


The Bucket List

by hybridempress



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst and Humor, Bucket List, Cancer, Gen, Religion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:00:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4535382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybridempress/pseuds/hybridempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ludwig, and the rest of Gilbert's friends, are hit with the terrifying shock of discovering that Gilbert is dying from a brain tumor that wasn't caught in time to be safely removed. With an estimated week left to live, Gilbert gathers what he has called "The Fellowship of the Bucket List" to help him have the best last days of his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Regret of Not Checking Sooner

    "So, doctor... What's the damage?"   
  
    A blond-haired German man with piercing blue eyes looked up at the doctor who was now standing in front of him. The German in question was known as Ludwig Beilschmidt. The doctor's name was Simon Cho. He was a rather tall Asian man. His skin was pale and his hair was long and red, tied back in a ponytail. His eyes were a dark shade of brown.   
  
    Ludwig had been sitting outside of room 152 of the Saint Frederick Memorial Hospital. His usually neat, slicked back hair was a mess and falling in front of his face, since he had been running his hands anxiously through it all afternoon. His face was blank except for the obvious stress and fear in his eyes.   
  
    The reason for all of this was the patient who was currently resting inside of room 152. Gilbert Beilschmidt. Ludwig's older brother.   
  
    Simon had just come out of said room. His expression revealed nothing. He slowly walked over to the chair beside Ludwig's and sat down in it. He sighed heavily and looked Ludwig dead in the eye.  
  
    "Ludwig... I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you. And I'm not going to lie to you, or promise you something that is impossible," he began  
  
    Ludwig felt his stomach drop while his heart soared into his throat. He felt like it was beating a thousand times per minute. His entire body was tense.  _ **Nein nein nein nein nein nein**  this can't be what I think it is... The doctor is fooling with me... Gilbert is fine! He always is!  **Bitte, Gott, bitte...**  Gilbert has to be alright..._ he pleaded silently.  
  
    "Mr. Beilschmidt... Your brother is dying."  
  
    And that's when Ludwig felt his whole world collapse.   
  
    "Wh-what...?" was all he could get out.  
  
    He was too shocked to speak. To cry. His body was shaking. He felt numb to the core. Gilbert was dying...? His big brother...? The man who had taken care of him ever since he was a child, since their parents were dead and their grandfather disappeared and was never seen again...? The man he loved more than anything else in the entire world...? He was going to be gone forever...?   
  
    Simon nodded solemnly. "Ludwig... Your brother has a brain tumor. I'm afraid we've caught it much too late. It's too big for us to try and remove now. There's nothing we can do about it," he explained. His voice was emotionless; like that of a robot.   
  
    "H-how long d-does he have...?" Ludwig asked, his voice shaking and barely audible.  
  
    "Approximately one week. Maybe a few days longer if he's lucky," Simon responded, his voice never wavering from its monotone for even a second.  
  
    Ludwig's eyes widened in horror. "O-one week!? I-I only have one week left with my brother!?" he shouted, panic evident in his voice.   
  
    He started hyperventilating. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't deal with this. Not now, not ever. Gilbert couldn't die. He just couldn't. Ludwig would not allow it to happen. Gilbert was going to fight through this and stay alive, just like the soldier he'd always been. He was still so young. He still had his whole life ahead of him. It couldn't stop here.  
  
    And yet, Ludwig knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Gilbert was going to die. There was no way to change it. No way around it. No matter how hard it was to believe, he had to accept it. If he tried to deny it, he'd only make himself go crazy. All he could do was try to stay calm and spend as much time as possible with Gilbert during his last days.   
  
    Simon sighed softly. "I know it's hard, Ludwig. Believe me, I understand how you feel. My father died of cancer when I was a teenager. He was my best friend and I was devastated. Believe me, if there was anything I could do about it, I would. And I am so sorry that I can't. But... This is life. You have to accept it. The sooner you do, the easier it'll be on both of you."  
  
    Ludwig nodded slowly, hesitantly. He took a shaky breath. " _J-ja..._  R-right..." he whispered.  
  
    "He's awake in the room. You can see him if you wish. I've already explained everything to him. You should decide together whether you want him to stay in the hospital or if he goes home. If he stays in the hospital then we can probably try to keep him alive for longer but... His death is inevitable either way," Simon told him.   
  
    Ludwig nodded again. "Right, right...  _Ja,_  I would like to see him, please," he said.  
  
    Simon nodded and stood up. Ludwig stood up with him. "Just go right in. I'll leave you two alone for a little while," he said. Then, he turned and walked away.  
  
    Ludwig swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and reached a shaking hand towards the doorknob. He turned it slowly and pushed the door open. He stepped inside and closed it behind him. He stood in front of the door awkwardly, not knowing exactly what to do next.   
  
    Gilbert had been looking out of the rather large window in his room. The curtains had been drawn aside for him. Not that there was much of a view, since he was on the bottom floor, but Gilbert figured it was best to see as much sunshine as he could on Earth before he passed on to Heaven. That was... Assuming he'd make it to Heaven.   
  
    When he heard the door open, Gilbert tore his eyes from the window and turned his head to see who had arrived. The previously dismal expression on his face turned to one of absolute delight when he saw his younger brother standing in front of the door. "Ah, Ludwig! Just the man I wanted to see! I was wondering when  _meine awesome bruder_  was going to come see the awesome me!" he exclaimed, though his voice was hoarse.   
  
    " _Ja..._  S-sorry I wasn't here sooner. The doctor was talking to me," Ludwig muttered.  
  
    Gilbert's face sobered immediately. "Then... I guess you know what's going on with me, eh?" he asked.  
  
    Ludwig nodded, swallowing again. " _Ja._  I do."  
  
    Gilbert patted a spot on the bed he was lying in. "Come on, Luddy. Sit with me. I'm not contagious, I swear," he urged, smirking.   
  
    Ludwig nodded again and walked slowly towards his brother's bed. He sat down next to the older man and instinctively took his hand. He held it tightly and brought it up to his mouth, kissing it gently. Gilbert's crimson eyes widened in surprise. Ludwig seldom showed affection towards Gilbert, or anyone, for that matter. Gilbert couldn't remember a time before this that Ludwig had ever kissed him.   
  
    "Uhhh, Luddy...? Are you okay...?" Gilbert asked, raising an eyebrow as Ludwig closed his eyes and kept Gilbert's hand close to his mouth.  
  
    However, upon hearing Gilbert's question, Ludwig's ice blue eyes shot open and he stared at his brother as if that was the most offensive question he'd ever been asked. "I've just found out that my older brother is  _dying,_  Gilbert. Do you honestly think I can be okay?" he retaliated.  
  
    Gilbert opened his mouth to answer, but quickly closed it, frowning. "Yeah... Right... Stupid question. Sorry."  
  
    Ludwig sighed heavily and closed his eyes again. The temptation to cry was pushing down on him and making him feel like a roof was collapsing on top of him. Still, he held the tears back. If Gilbert wasn't crying, then he wouldn't, either. He would be strong until his big brother broke. No, he'd still be strong, even after that. This time, it was Ludwig's turn to take care of Gilbert. Not the other way around.   
  
    Gilbert smiled softly. He squeezed Ludwig's hand and returned the gesture of kissing it. Now it was Ludwig's turn to have his eyes widen in surprise. It wasn't like Gilbert had never kissed him before, but even so, it shocked him. Especially since Gilbert seemed so strong in this hopeless situation.  
  
    "Hey, Ludwig. It's gonna be alright, okay? We're gonna get through this together. We're the Beilschmidt Brothers! We're awesome! We can pull through! We always do, remember?" Gilbert exclaimed, his crimson eyes burning with confidence.  
  
    And this was when Ludwig lost it. He clung to his brother tightly, holding the silver-haired German (Prussian, if you had asked Gilbert himself) as if he would never let go; as if Ludwig clinging to him was the only thing that was keeping him alive. He buried his face into Gilbert's chest and started sobbing his heart out.   
  
    Gilbert gasped in shock and watched as his brother cried for about a minute before he slowly wrapped his arms around Ludwig's torso, hugging him back tightly. "Hey, hey, Luddy, shh... Shh... Come on, there's no reason to cry..." he whispered soothingly.   
  
    Gilbert hadn't seen Ludwig cry since he was a little kid. The last time Ludwig had cried was when he found out that their grandpa had disappeared and that he and Gilbert were left to fend for themselves in this horrible world. That had been the last time that Ludwig himself remembered crying. If he had cried another time, it most definitely had not been in front of someone else. Ludwig always kept his emotions hidden away from the rest of the world, for fear that showing any sign of emotional weakness would give his enemies an advantage. However, now that he was crying in front of Gilbert, he couldn't seem to stop. No matter how hard he tried, the tears came on harder.   
  
    And he was so ashamed of himself.  
  
    How  _dare_  he cry in front of Gilbert. How  _dare_  he be weak in front of a man who was so strong. How  _dare_  he be crying when Gilbert wasn't, and when he had said there was nothing to cry about. How  _dare_  he make Gilbert comfort him, when he had sworn to be the one to comfort Gilbert from now on. This was unacceptable. But still, he couldn't stop.  
  
    "Don't tell me there's no reason to cry!" he shouted, catching Gilbert off guard once again. "Don't tell me that everything's going to be alright! You know damn well that it isn't! You are  _dying,_  Gilbert! You're dying and there's nothing we can do about it! Do you even care!?"  
  
    Gilbert flinched and sighed softly. "Of course I care, Ludwig. Do you honestly think that I  _want_  to die? That I want to leave you and Francis and Toni and... Liz... All alone? But like you just said, there's nothing we can do about it! The more time we spend crying and feeling sorry for ourselves is less time that we have to do fun things together. Now if I've only got a week left to live, I'm gonna make it the best damn week of my life. But I need your help to do that! Come on, Ludwig, won't you help me make my last days  _awesome?_ "  
  
    It was these words that got Ludwig to stop crying. Slowly, his sobs turned into soft sniffles. He finally let go of Gilbert and sat up again, though he took a hold of both of Gilbert's hands. He stared his brother straight in the eye, having the most determined look on his face that Gilbert had ever seen. "Yes, Gilbert. I will help you to make this the most  _awesome_  week of your life," he promised.  
  
    Gilbert smiled broadly. " _Awesome!_  I know I could count on you, Luddy! No way  _meine awesome bruder_  would let me down!" he exclaimed.  
  
    Ludwig smiled weakly. " _Ja._  No way. So, uh... I guess this means that we've decided you're coming home instead of staying in the hospital this week, hm?" he inquired.  
  
    "Pfft, of course! What kind of lamo would keep himself locked up in a hospital during his last days if he had the choice to go out and make them the best days of his life!? You'd have to be crazy!" Gilbert declared.  
  
    " _Ja,_  crazy..." Ludwig agreed. "But what are you going to do to make this the most awesome week ever?" he asked.  
  
    "Oh, easy!" Gilbert answered excitedly. "I'm gonna make an awesome bucket list!"  
  
    Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "A bucket list?" he asked.  
  
    " _Ja!_  I'll make a list of awesome things that I've always wanted to do! Then we'll do one thing on it every day until I die! And I'll invite Toni and Francis and Feli and Lovino and Kiku and Roderich and Liz! And it'll be so awesome!" Gilbert explained.   
  
    Ludwig's smile grew a little. "That's a wonderful idea, Gilbert," he said.  
  
    "You really think so?" Gilbert asked, his already huge smile growing as well.  
  
    Ludwig nodded. " _Ja,_ " he replied.  
  
    Gilbert sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. However, when silence came over him and Ludwig, his courage and determination began to falter. To a lot of people, death didn't seem that bad. It was just like going to sleep and never waking up. You'd never even know it. It wasn't that frightening.   
      
    But for Gilbert, it was another story. He and Ludwig were both religious men. They believed in God, Jesus, Heaven and Hell. But Gilbert had done a lot of terrible things in his life. Sins that he felt could never be forgiven. He hadn't wanted to do them; it was necessary to keep himself and Ludwig alive. But that didn't make them any more excusable.   
  
    "Hey... Ludwig...?" Gilbert asked softly.  
  
    " _Ja,_  Gilbert?" Ludwig replied, frowning slightly.   
  
    "Do you think I've been awesome enough to get into Heaven?" Gilbert asked, opening his eyes again and looking at Ludwig seriously.   
  
    "...What?" Ludwig asked, confused.  
  
    "Do you think I've been good enough to get into Heaven, Ludwig? O-or am I going to go to Hell...?" Gilbert asked, his voice faltering for the first time that day.   
  
    Ludwig hugged Gilbert tightly again and ran his fingers through the albino's silver hair. He kissed Gilbert's forehead gently several times. " _Nein, nein,_  Gilbert. You're not going to Hell. You're the best and most awesome man I've ever known. There's no way you won't get into Heaven," he assured soothingly.   
  
    "But I... I've done so many bad things. I've stolen food, other people's things, even money... I've gotten drunk and I've hit you before... I even killed a man once! I killed him to protect you, but still... How can I get into Heaven?" Gilbert asked.  
  
    Ludwig let go of Gilbert and grabbed his hands again. He squeezes them tightly and stared at his brother. "Gilbert, listen to me. You are the most spectacular, amazing, wonderful,  _awesome_  man I've ever met. Everyone makes mistakes. No one is perfect. There are millions of other people who have done worse than you have. And for all the sins you've committed in your life, you've done so many good things, too. There's a difference between doing bad things and being a bad person. You may have done some bad things, but you are by no means a bad person. And God has forgiven you. I promise."  
  
    Gilbert's face brightened up almost immediately. His eyes were happy again and the smile had returned to his face. "Well... If you say it, then it must be true! I have to believe  _meine awesome bruder!_ " he exclaimed. Ludwig smiled.   
  
    Just then, there was a quick rap on the door before it was opened and Doctor Simon Cho entered the room again. He smiled faintly when he saw Gilbert and Ludwig holding each other's hands and smiling. He was glad that neither of them were taking this as hard as he had expected them to.   
  
    Gilbert and Ludwig looked at Simon, and Ludwig let go of Gilbert's hands. "Hello, doctor," Ludwig greeted.  
  
    Simon gave a small nod. "Hello, Ludwig, Gilbert. So... How is everything going...?" he asked.  
  
    Ludwig was about to open his mouth and reply with something along the lines of "Fine," but Gilbert beat him to it.  
  
    "Awesome!" he exclaimed.  
  
    Simon blinked a few times, surprised from the reaction. However, his smile grew a little more and he walked closer to the brothers. "That's good... So, have you two decided about where Gilbert will be residing until... He passes...?" he asked. The poor doctor had been through this more than a hundred times, but that never made it any easier...  
  
    Ludwig and Gilbert nodded in unison. " _Ja,_  we have," Ludwig answered.  
  
    "I'm going home! No offense, doc, but only a loser would spend his last days in a lamo hospital! And  _I_  am no loser! I am the  _awesome_ Gilbert!" Gilbert exclaimed, his crimson eyes once again burning with life.  
  
    Simon laughed. "Alright, Gilbert. Then, if you're feeling alright now, you're free to go," he said.  
  
    "Yeah, I'm ready!" Gilbert shouted.  
  
    Simon and Ludwig helped Gilbert get ready to go home. It only took about twenty minutes for him to get out of bed, get changed from his hospital gown and into his regular clothes, and get out to the parking lot, where Ludwig's car was. Gilbert climbed into the passenger side, while Ludwig sat in the driver's seat. Gilbert and Ludwig buckled themselves, and once they had done so, Ludwig began driving away from the hospital.  
  
    "Hey, Luddy?" Gilbert asked once they had been on the road for a few minutes.  
  
    " _Ja,_  Gilbert?" Ludwig answered.  
  
    "I think I'm gonna take a little snooze. Wake me up when we get home,  _ja?_ " Gilbert requested.   
  
    Ludwig nodded his head. "I will," he said.  
  
    Gilbert smiled. " _Danke, bruder._  You're the best," he said. Then, he rested his head against the back of his seat, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.   
  
    In the silence of the car ride home, Ludwig began having flashbacks of what had happened that morning. What had happened to land Gilbert in the hospital. How Ludwig had begun to dread that his life would never be the same again.  
  
\---  
  
     _The day had started out just like any other. Ludwig was up at six o'clock AM sharp. He cleaned his room, showered, got himself dressed and went to the kitchen to start making breakfast. Omelets, for both him and Gilbert. Even though they were both grown men, they still lived together.  
  
    Ludwig had always told himself that it was because Gilbert was far too immature to love on his own, but he knew that was a lie. Gilbert may not act like it most of the time, but he was  **far**  more mature than Ludwig would  **ever**  be. Ludwig and Gilbert still lived together because Ludwig didn't know what he would do if he didn't have his brother with him. Frankly, Gilbert felt the same way.   
  
    When seven o'clock came around and Gilbert wasn't up, Ludwig sighed and decided to get his brother up himself. He set the plates on the table, along with forks, napkins and glasses of orange juice. Then, he walked down the hall and towards Gilbert's room.   
  
    "Gilbert! Get your lazy ass out of bed this instant do you hear me!?" Ludwig bellowed as he threw the door to Gilbert's room open.   
  
    Gilbert sat bolt upright in bed. "Wha-huh...!?" he grumbled, opening his eyes slowly and looking at his brother. He yawned loudly. He looked awful. His "awesome" hair was a mess and there was drool all over his face and on his pillow. Ludwig had to bite the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing.   
  
    "I said get your lazy ass out of bed,  **dumpkoff**. It's seven in the morning. We're supposed to go hiking today, remember?" Ludwig reminded.  
  
    This reminder seemed to wake Gilbert right up. "Oh yeah! Alright, give me ten minutes! I'll be all dressed and ready to go!" he exclaimed. Ludwig nodded and left the room.   
  
    Exactly ten minutes later, Gilbert walked into the kitchen. However, instead of making a grand entrance like he usually did, he trudged into the room slowly, groaning loudly. Ludwig watched as Gilbert made his way over to the medicine cabinet, opened it, and started digging through it.  
  
    "Gilbert... Are you alright?" Ludwig asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
    " **Ja, ja,**  I'm fine. I just have a totally unawesome headache," Gilbert answered, pulling a bottle of Advil out of the cabinet.   
  
    He opened the bottle, took two pills out, closed the bottle, and brought the pills to the table. He sat down, picked up his glass of orange juice, and swallowed the pills before drinking the orange juice.   
  
    "Again?" Ludwig questioned, sounding a bit concerned.   
  
    For the past few months, Gilbert had been having headaches and had been much more tired than usual. He'd been spacing out, even blacking out, a lot more often than Ludwig thought was healthy. Sometimes he couldn't see straight. Other times he couldn't hear. A series of problems one after another that would only last for a short amount of time. Ludwig had urged Gilbert to go to a doctor several times, but Gilbert had always dismissed it, saying there was nothing wrong and that he'd be fine.  
  
    Gilbert shrugged. "Yeah."  
  
    "Gilbert, you've had headaches every single day for the past four weeks. That can't be healthy. I really think you should see a doctor," Ludwig said.  
  
    "Don't worry about it, Luddy! I'm fine, I promise!" Gilbert assured. Ludwig sighed.  
  
    The brothers finished eating and started cleaning the kitchen together. Once that was done, they began packing their backpacks so that they could go hiking. Ludwig finished before Gilbert. He stood by the front door for ten minutes but heard nothing from his brother. Ludwig groaned.  
  
    "Gilbert!! Come on!! Stop being such a lazy bum!" he shouted, as loud as he could.  
  
    Two minutes passed without an answer. " **Gilbert!!** " Ludwig shouted again.  
  
    "Huh? Wha?" Gilbert finally shouted from the top of the stairs.  
  
    "Let's  **go,**  Gilbert!" Ludwig commanded.   
  
    "Ohhh right, right, sorry,  **bruder!** " Gilbert exclaimed.   
  
    Ludwig heard rapid footsteps across the floor upstairs, towards the stair case. He heard Gilbert make it down about three steps before he apparently lost his footing and tumbled down the rest of them, letting out a shocked shriek. Ludwig's eyes widened and he ran towards the stairs when he heard all the crashing. By the time he got to the stairs, it was too late to keep Gilbert from falling. He was already lying on the floor, groaning in pain, with a huge bruise on his neck and forehead.   
  
    "Gilbert! What happened?" Ludwig asked incredulously, kneeling by his brother and helping him into a sitting position.   
  
    "I-I don't... Know... One minute I was running down the hallway, the next, I couldn't feel my legs..." Gilbert muttered. His voice was dull and so were his eyes.   
  
    Ludwig's eyes widened. "Wait, what!?" he demanded.  
  
    "I c-can't feel my legs, Luddy... H-help me..." Gilbert whimpered. After that, he closed his eyes, and though he was still breathing, he didn't open them again.  
  
     **Schieße... Schieße schieße schieße!**  Ludwig screamed mentally. He didn't know what to do; how to react. His brother had just fell down seventeen steps, said that he couldn't feel his legs, and passed out in Ludwig's arms.  
  
    "Dammit, Gilbert! I told you something was wrong!" Ludwig shouted.   
  
    He picked Gilbert up bridal-style and rushed him out to the car. He put Gilbert into the passenger seat, buckled him up, and then jumped into the driver's seat. He buckled himself in and started the car up. Then, he drove as fast as he could towards the hospital, where he would learn the fate of his brother._  
  
\---  
  
    When Ludwig pulled into the driveway of the house that he and Gilbert shared, it wasn't him who woke Gilbert up. Rather, it was the silver-haired German's cellphone, which started playing the chorus of Florence + The Machine's  _Kiss with a Fist_. Ludwig recognized it to be the ringtone that Gilbert had set for his so-called "future girlfriend and Queen of the Empire of Awesome", Elizabeta Hédeváry.   
  
    When the ringtone started playing, Gilbert was immediately startled out of his sleep. He instinctively reached into his pocket and pulled his cellphone out of it. He answered it quickly. " _Hallo?_ " he asked groggily.   
  
    He was met by the angry yelling of the Hungarian girl on the other end of the line. "Gilbert Beilschmidt! I can't believe it! You inconsiderate pig! Where the hell are you!?" she demanded.  
  
    "Uhhh..."   
  
    "You've just woken up from sleeping, haven't you!?" Elizabeta questioned.  
  
    " _Ja..._  So...?" Gilbert replied.  
  
    "I knew it! I  _knew_  it! You can't take anything seriously, can you, Gilbert!? You asked me to teach you fencing today and you don't even bother to show up! And now I've just wasted a good half an hour of my day waiting for you! Well you've completely lost my trust now, Gilbert! I'm never agreeing to anything like this again!" Elizabeta shrieked.  
  
    Gilbert's eyes widened in horror. "O-oh  _mein Gott!_  Lizzy, baby, I am  _so_  sorry, I  _completely_  forgot that you were teaching me today! Ah, don't worry, I'll be there in fifteen minutes, okay? I swear on my awesomeness!" he exclaimed.  
  
    "Don't bother, Gilbert. And if you  _dare_  call me 'baby'  _ever_  again, you'll end up with my frying pan in your face, get it?" Elizabeta threatened.   
  
    Gilbert swallowed hard. " _J-ja,_  I get it. But come on, Liz. I was really excited for this. Please, please give me another chance," Gilbert begged.  
  
    "Why should I?" Elizabeta asked.  
  
    "Because I'll do everything you say and I won't argue or make fun of you or Roderich and I won't act like a snobby-snob-snob or boast that I am awesome every five seconds and it's very very important to me... So yeah..." Gilbert said.  
  
    Elizabeta was a bit taken aback by Gilbert's promise. He'd do everything she said without arguing? He wouldn't make fun of her or say anything bad about Roderich? He wouldn't act cocky and arrogant like he usually did? That didn't sound like the Gilbert that Elizabeta knew at all. If he was really promising all that, then this must be extremely important to him. And if it was really  _that_  important to him, then she'd feel bad if she let him down... Even if he did deserve it.  
  
    "I-I..." Elizabeta sighed. "Alright, alright, Gilbert. I'll wait fifteen more minutes. If you're not here, I'm leaving. And if you go back on any of your promises, I'll beat you to a pulp, get it?" she asked.  
  
    Gilbert nodded. " _Ja,_  I get it," he said.  
  
    "Good. See you in fifteen minutes, then." She hung up.  
  
    Gilbert put his phone back into his pocket and looked at Ludwig. "Well. Looks like I've got a fencing lesson to go to. If I'm late I'm gonna get my ass whooped," he said, and started laughing.   
  
    "Are you sure you can get there by yourself? What if you pass out again? What if you-"  
  
    "Ludwig, I'll be fine. I promise. If I start to feel even a little weird, I'll call you right away, okay? It's only fifteen minutes away," Gilbert assured.  
  
    "...Are you going to tell her what's happened to you...?" Ludwig asked quietly.  
  
    Gilbert was silent for a moment before finally saying "Yes. But not today."   
  
    Ludwig opened his mouth to say something, but shut it. The two brothers stared at each other in silence for a while before Gilbert finally unbuckled himself and got out of the car. He shut the passenger side door and took off at a run as quickly as he could towards Rosemary Park, where Elizabeta would be waiting for him. 


	2. What Would You Say?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert makes it to the park just in time for his fencing lessons with Elizabeta. After Gilbert asks Elizabeta what she would say to him if she knew that they were her last words to him, she asks him the same question, and the answer leaves her stunned.

     The park wasn't far away at all. It only took Gilbert a little more than 15 minutes to run from his driveway to Rosemary Park, where Liz was waiting rather impatiently to teach Gilbert how to fence. He knew that she would be in the big clearing encompassed by a small portion of the rather large bike trail that ran throughout the park. After entering the park, he ran towards the field. When he saw Liz, he called to her.  
  
     "Liz! Lizzy! Lizlizlizlizlizlizliz-"  
  
     Gilbert stopped calling for her when she walked to meet him and delivered a sharp blow with the palm of her hand to the back of his head. Gilbert grunted and pushed her hand away from him before rubbing the back of his head where she had hit him. Man, he had forgotten how strong that lady was.  
  
    "Hey! What was that for!?" he demanded, glaring at her as she glared back at him.  
  
    "For being late, you pig!" Elizabeta answered, crossing her arms in front of her chest and standing up straighter, almost looking down on Gilbert.   
  
    "Oh, right... Yeah, sorry about that..." Gilbert muttered, averting his eyes slightly.  
  
     Elizabeta sighed heavily. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting, you know. You're lucky you showed up when you did! I was just leaving," she told him.  
  
    Gilbert looked at her gratefully. "Yeah, I'm sorry, okay? It was totally unawesome of me to forget that you were teaching me today. I swear it won't happen again. Thanks for waiting for me,  _liebe,_ " he said.  
  
    Elizabeta blushed softly and looked away from him. "Whatever. I just supposed it meant a lot to you. You better not prove me wrong," she grunted.   
  
     "It does mean a lot to me, Liz. It means the whole world. Thank you so much. I owe you," Gilbert said.  
  
     Elizabeta's face softened, but only slightly. "Look, you don't owe me anything, okay, Gil? We're friends. Just don't be late again, alright?" she asked.  
  
     Gilbert nodded. "Right."  
  
     "Then come on, let's get started."  
  
     Elizabeta began to walk back to the center of the field, where she had been waiting for Gilbert earlier. Gilbert followed behind her at a decent pace. Once Elizabeta had returned to where she was standing before, she picked up two long rapiers and held one of them out for Gilbert to take. Once Gilbert was close enough to her, he took the rapier from her and held it up in front of him.   
  
     "No, Gil, that's not how you hold a rapier. Look, do it like this," Elizabeta said, shifting her own rapier in her hand a little and holding it properly.   
  
     Gilbert nodded and shifted his rapier to match the way Elizabeta was holding hers. When he was satisfied that he was holding it properly, he looked at Elizabeta for approval. "Like this?" he asked her.  
  
    "That's right! Now, stand like this," Elizabeta instructed, smiling as she assumed the proper fighting stance in one swift and graceful movement. Gilbert watched her before doing the same.   
  
     "Very good, Gilbert! You might not be so bad at this after all," Elizabeta teased, giggling softly as Gilbert rolled his eyes playfully.  
  
     "Now, today I'll teach you some basic slashes and jabs..."   
  
     The two of them practiced together for about an hour and a half before Gilbert started to get tired, and they stopped. Elizabeta was surprised at how quickly the time had gone by, but also at how quickly Gilbert had become tired. She had expected him to last a lot longer than an hour and a half. She said nothing about it, though, and soon led Gilbert to one of the pavilions so that they could sit down at a picnic table together.  
  
     Gilbert sighed with relief as he plopped himself down on the bench of the table and laid his rapier on top of the table. He was so glad to be able to rest his feet and his arms for a little while. He folded his arms on top of the table and buried his face in them, closing his eyes to rest them for a while.   
  
     Elizabeta sat on the bench across from him. She laid her rapier on the table right next to Gilbert's, and looked at him as he started to doze off with his face buried in his arms. She smiled softly to herself. He was a hard worker, and he was cute when he was resting.   
  
     "You did well today, Gil," she said to him.  
  
     "Thanks," Gilbert murmured, not bothering to look up from his arms.  
  
     They sat together in silence for a little while as Gilbert rested, before he suddenly thought of a serious question that he wanted to ask Elizabeta. He lifted his head up from his arms and looked at her, hoping that he just looked tired to her, and that none of the true seriousness of the question he was about to ask would get to her. He wasn't ready to tell her the reason just yet.  
  
     "Hey... Liz...? Can I ask you a question...?" he asked her softly.  
  
    "Of course, Gil. What is it?" Elizabeta replied, looking at Gilbert intently.   
  
    "So like, hypothetically... If you and I were warriors from a long time ago and we were fighting this awesome battle together, and I got fatally wounded while protecting someone else, and I was about to die, what would you say to me? What would your last words to me be?" Gilbert asked, trying to keep a light tone to his voice, but he wasn't quite sure that it was working.   
  
     Elizabeta raised an eyebrow at Gilbert's question. He'd never asked her something like that before. He almost sounded serious about it, too. Just one more thing that was so off about him today...  
  
     "Where is this coming from all of a sudden, Gil?" she asked him, sounding slightly worried.  
  
     "Wha? Nowhere. I just, while we were fencing, I started to imagine us as awesome sword fighters from a long time ago! I've always wanted to die a heroic death, you know! So what would you say to me if I was going to die as an awesome hero?" Gilbert asked again, forcing a smirk this time.   
  
     "Well... I-I suppose that I'd tell you that you were going to be okay, even if I knew that you weren't... And you would tell me not to lie to you, so instead, I would say that you were the best friend that I had ever known. I would beg you to stay with me. I would hold you in my arms as you were fading away and I'd cry over you. I don't... I don't know what else I'd say, Gil," Elizabeta answered.   
  
     The situation seemed almost romantic. It was bittersweet. Elizabeta knew that it wasn't real, and that it never would be, but the thought of it still made her sad somehow. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost Gilbert. She didn't think she'd be able to bear that.   
  
      "I... You really think I'm your best friend, Liz?" Gilbert asked her, his eyes widening a little.   
  
     "Well of course I do, Gil. We've known each other since we were in that orphanage in Budapest together. We've been through practically everything together. Why wouldn't I think that of you?" she answered.   
  
     Gilbert shrugged. "I dunno. I thought you would have said that it was Roddy or Lilli or someone like that," he told her.  
  
     "I do love Roderich and Lilli dearly, but you will always be my best friend, Gil," Elizabeta said.   
  
     "I... Thank you, Elizabeta. That means a lot to me," Gilbert said.   
  
     Elizabeta was caught off guard by Gilbert's use of her full name. He only ever called her "Liz" or "Lizzy" or some kind of pet name. Elizabeta hadn't heard her full name from him in longer than she could remember. It sounded so serious coming from him...   
  
     But she shook away the thought. If something was wrong, Gilbert would tell her in his own time. She'd just have to wait patiently until then.  
  
    "Well, what about you? What would you say to me, if you were with me in my last moments?" she asked quietly, trying to keep the silence from becoming awkward.   
  
    Now it was Gilbert's turn to be taken aback. He hadn't expected her to return the question to him. Under normal circumstances, Gilbert would have made up something sarcastic or overly dramatic to answer Elizabeta with, but these weren't normal circumstances. Now, Gilbert wanted to tell the truth.  
  
     "If you were dying in my arms, I wouldn't know what to say. I would cry. A lot. More than I've ever cried before in my life. I would beg you to stay alive. I would try my hardest to keep you alive. I'd do everything I could to save you. But if I knew that it was in vain... I'd tell you that I loved you."  
  
     "I-I'm sorry?" Elizabeta asked, her mouth hanging open a little. Was he being serious? His tone made it sound as if he meant that with his entire being. It was honestly a little scary.  
  
     "I said I'd tell you I love you, Elizabeta," Gilbert repeated, standing up from his bench, "because I do."  
  
     Elizabeta stared at him in shock while he stared down at her with the most serious gaze that he had ever seen on him or anyone else. The two of them stared at each other for a while before Gilbert turned on his heels and began walking away. Quickly, Elizabeta stood up from her bench, but she didn't walk after him.  
  
     "G-Gilbert, wait...-!"  
  
     He didn't stop. Elizabeta didn't follow him. Gilbert walked all the way back to his home, while Elizabeta stood and watched him go, feeling more confused now more than ever about what was going on with Gilbert.   
  
    Despite the fact that he had been walking and not running back to his home, by the time Gilbert had gotten back, he was tired and out of breath. It didn't help that he was still sore from fencing. Goddamn this fucking brain tumor. He couldn't even get a good workout without feeling like he'd just run a marathon? What the fuck?   
  
     Gilbert reached into his pocket and fished around for the key to his house until he was finally able to close his fist around it and pull it out. He pushed it into the lock and unlocked the door before opening it and stepping inside. "Luddy! I'm home!" he shouted as he removed the key from the lock and closed the door. He stuck the key back into his pocket before walking into the living room, where he assumed Ludwig would be.   
  
    Ludwig looked up from his book and stared at Gilbert for a moment before his visage turned worried. Gilbert was pale and breathing a little heavily. On top of that, he looked distraught, or at least upset about something. Ludwig wondered what was wrong.  
  
     "Are you alright, Gilbert?" he asked, trying his best to mask the concern in his voice. It didn't work.  
  
    "Huh? Wha, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired from spending time with Liz. That's all," Gilbert assured.  
  
    Ludwig smiled faintly. "Did you two have a good time?" he asked.  
  
     Gilbert shrugged a little, walking towards the couch and sitting down next to Ludwig. "Yeah. We had fun," he replied.  
  
     Ludwig raised an eyebrow upon hearing how dismal the tone of Gilbert's voice was. "Your voice says otherwise," he said.  
  
     Gilbert sighed heavily and slumped deeper into his seat. "I... I dunno. It was great while she was teaching me, but when we stopped, I asked her a dumb question, and I took it too seriously," he admitted.  
  
     "What do you mean...?" Ludwig asked.   
  
     "I asked her what she thought her last words would be to me if I were dying in her arms. She told me some bullshit about how I was her best friend and whatever, then she asked me the same question. And... I told her I would tell her that I loved her, and then I left."  
  
     Ludwig's eyes widened slightly and he stared at Gilbert for a moment in stunned silence. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He wasn't quite sure how to reply to what Gilbert had just confessed to.   
  
     "And before you ask, no, I didn't tell her why I asked the question in the first place. She still has no idea what's happening to me. I just figured I'd tell her how I felt about her before it was too late. I mean, what've I got left to lose, anyways? It's not like I have any time to be heartbroken if she rejects me. I figured she had a right to know," Gilbert said, breaking the silence when he realized that Ludwig couldn't.  
  
     Ludwig finally sighed softly and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at Gilbert again. "You know you still have to tell her, don't you? You can't just- You can't just tell her that you love her and then leave her hanging. You can't just die on her. That's not fair to her," he said.  
  
    Gilbert frowned deeply, almost glaring at Ludwig. "Yeah, well who the fuck said life was fair, Ludwig? If life was fair, I wouldn't be dying in the first place," he hissed.   
  
     Ludwig flinched slightly. "Y-you're right. I'm sorry, Gilbert. I misspoke. I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry," he whispered.  
  
     Gilbert's face softened, realizing that he had made Ludwig feel guilty. That was the last thing he had meant to do, and the last thing he needed right now. "No, Lud, I'm sorry... That was harsh of me..." he muttered, wrapping his arms around Ludwig and pulling him into a tight hug.  _"Ich liebe dich, kleiner bruder,"_  he whispered.  
  
     Ludwig hugged him back firmly.  _"Ich liebe dich, großer bruder,"_  he whispered back.   
  
     "I'm going to tell everyone tomorrow. I promise. I'm sending an email to everyone tonight, asking them to meet me in Rosemary park tomorrow... You and I will be there together. I'll tell everyone what's going on... And I'll ask everyone to help me do the things on my bucket list. I'll write that out tonight," Gilbert said, pulling away from Ludwig slowly.  
  
    "Well, who exactly is 'everyone'?" Ludwig asked, sitting up straight and looking at him.  
  
    "Liz, Francis, Toni, Feli, Kiku, Lovino and Roderich," Gilbert answered.   
  
    Ludwig nodded. " _Ja._  Okay. You get to writing those emails," he urged.  
  
    Gilbert smiled faintly and did as he was told. He pulled his laptop off of the coffee table and turned it on. As soon as it started up, he opened his internet browser and went straight to his email website. Instead of writing individual emails to all of his friends, he wrote one email and addressed it to all of them.  
  
 _HELLO LOSERS! >:D  
  
Jk jk. Only two of you are losers. Have fun trying to figure out who I mean ;)  
  
No I'm just playing I swear. All of you are Awesome. Like me!   
  
I bet you are all wondering why the awesome me has honored you by sending you this awesome email. WELL KEEP READING AND I WILL TELL YOU! It's very important.  
  
You see, something very big is going to happen tomorrow! I have a big announcement to make! BUT, I want to tell all of you in person!  
  
Now, I know that Roderich and Lovino are thinking that I'm being unawesome to them and that I'm going to pull an awesome prank or whatever. Or maybe they just don't want to come. And I know that Elizabeta probably thinks that I'm going to stand her up again. But please, guys. I'm begging you. That is not something I do very often. Please... Meet me in Rosemary Park at 10:00 AM tomorrow.  
  
Danke  
  
With love,  
  
THE AWESOME GILBERT!_  
  
    Gilbert read over his email and smirked. He thought it was pretty convincing. Everyone was bound to come now. And if they didn't... Well, then they weren't awesome enough to be with him in his final moments, anyways.   
  
    He pressed the 'send' button, and once the email had sent to all of the people he had addressed it to, Gilbert closed the browser, shut down the laptop, and set it back on the coffee table. He stood up, stretched, and looked down at Ludwig.   
  
    "Well, that bucket list isn't gonna write itself. Call me when it's time for dinner,  _ja?_ " Gilbert requested.  
  
    Ludwig merely nodded his head in response. Gilbert smiled. "Great!" And with that, he ran upstairs to his bedroom to start working on his bucket list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS TOOK SO MUCH FUCKING EDITING HOLY SHIT
> 
> I'M NEVER REWRITING AND OLD SERIES AGAIN I SWEAR TO GOD  
> (I say this as I plan to have at least three other fics rewritten) 
> 
> Anyways, I'm hoping that the next few chapters will be a lot more lighthearted than this one is. Hope you guys are nejoying the suffering so far. Love you <3


	3. The Council of Gilbert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of friends that Gilbert had sent an email out to the previous night had all come to the park to hear what Gilbert needed to tell them. With the revelation of Gilbert's death sentence hanging above their heads, the group is devastated, but Gilbert reveals his plan to have the most awesome week ever before he dies, and he and his friends complete the first item on Gilbert's bucket list.

    Ludwig and Gilbert both slept in the next morning. Instead of getting up at six, Ludwig ended up getting up at eight. He had woken Gilbert up by nine. The morning was simple enough. The brothers made it through with no problems, except for Gilbert's usual headache. Even so, Ludwig kept very close watch over his brother.   
  
    "Did you get your bucket list figured out?" Ludwig asked as he was cleaning the kitchen. Gilbert had wanted to help, but Ludwig forced him to rest.  
  
    " _Ja!_  and it's the most awesomely achievable and super fun bucket list on the face of the planet!!" Gilbert declared triumphantly.  
  
    Ludwig smiled softly. "Are you going to tell me what's on it?" he inquired.   
  
    "Nope!" Gilbert answered.   
  
    Ludwig raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why not?" he asked.   
  
    "Because! It's a surprise! I'm not telling  _anyone_  until we meet in the park today!" Gilbert shouted.   
  
    "Well, we better get going, then. It's nine-thirty. It would be unawesome if we were late to your own meeting, wouldn't it?" Ludwig asked, smirking slightly.  
  
    Gilbert jumped up from his chair immediately and ran towards the front door. "Come on you little brother wimpy baby man boy! Last one to the park is a rotten potato!" he shouted.  
  
    "Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" Ludwig yelled, and quickly ran after his brother.   
  
    The two Germans made their way to Rosemary Park. Of course, Gilbert got there first, but Ludwig wasn't far behind. Gilbert smirked a little as he turned around to look at Ludwig, and stuck his tongue out teasing.  
  
     "Guess you're the rotten potato today, Luddy," he said, and laughed heartily.  
  
    Ludwig rolled his eyes. "You only won because you got a head start. I would have beaten you if we had started at the same time," he protested, though he was smiling.   
  
    Gilbert laughed and threw his arm around Ludwig's shoulder, pulling the other man close and giving him a tight side-hug. "I'm just messing with you, bro. You know that you'll always be the most awesome person in the world besides me. And I'm always gonna love you. Even after I die. You know that, right?" he asked, somewhat seriously.  
  
    Ludwig nodded his head. " _Ja._  I know that."  
  
    It wasn't long before the people that Gilbert had emailed started to arrive. The first was Antonio. Unsurprisingly, he was dragging Lovino along with him. Feliciano was following close behind. Antonio and Feliciano looked as cheerful as ever, while Lovino was grumbling and swearing. He obviously didn't want to be there. The fourth to arrive was Kiku. He was not accompanied by anyone. Rather, he was walking alone and very much at his own pace. The next two to arrive were Elizabeta and Roderich. They arrived together. Elizabeta's look was a bit serious. She seemed almost lost in thought. Roderich seemed to share that expression with her. Last, but certainly not least, was Francis. He was fashionably late, as usual. He walked towards the group with his usual swagger, that same infectious smile on his face.   
  
     As Gilbert gazed upon all of them, he etched their faces into his mind. These expressions, they were part of what Gilbert's friends thought of him. How they were reacting to the call they had received, to come listen to what they had to say to him. This was the beginning of the end of their time together. Gilbert wanted to take every memory of them this week to his grave.   
  
    None of them had a clue about the news that Gilbert was about to break to them. Remembering this, Gilbert felt began to feel sick to his stomach. He didn't know if he was going to be able to go through with this. These people that he had gathered here... They were his  _best friends._  He'd been through  _everything_  with them. Their bonds were so tight, it was like a steel chain. Almost impossible to break. And yet... When he told them that he was dying... What was going to happen? Would that chain stay together? Would everyone stay strong together, even without him? Or would his death be the downfall of the chain that they formed? Would the friendship unravel slowly in the weeks succeeding Gilbert's death? Would Gilbert's funeral be the last thing that they all put on together?   
  
     Furthermore, how would everyone react when they received this news? Would there be crying? Would they be speechless? Would it cause a depression? Would he be responsible for the desperate unhappiness of the people that he loved more than anything else in the world?  
  
     At this point, Gilbert wasn't even worried about what this illness was doing to him. He welcomed death. Embraced it. It was inevitable. There was nothing that he could do to stop it or prolong it. This was his fate. But how would the fates of his friends change because of that? The one thought that Gilbert couldn't stand was that his death would not be forgiven. That his friends would never be the same afterwards. His biggest fear was of being forgotten, yet somehow, he felt that being forgotten might be less painful than knowing that his friends would suffer after he was gone.  
  
    Antonio started laughing upon Francis' arrival, which snapped Gilbert out of his depressed daze. He looked up, and watched as Antonio ran to Francis to greet him. The two of them held each other in a tight embrace, smiling, before Antonio pulled away to speak.   
  
     "Oi, Francis, I'm so glad you're here! We've been waiting for you!" he exclaimed.  
  
    "Oh, I'm so sorry,  _mes amis._  I didn't mean to keep you waiting," Francis apologized, though cheerfully.   
  
    "Don't apologize. It was only a couple of minutes!" Feliciano dismissed.   
  
    Roderich surveyed the group thoroughly. "Is everyone here?" he asked, looking at each of the faces in turn.   
  
    Lovino started counting everyone. However, Kiku answered without hesitation. "Yes, everyone is here."  
  
    "Anotnio, Lovino, Feliciano, Roderich, Kiku, Francis, me, Ludwig and Gilbert. Yes, we're all here," Elizabeta informed, pointing to each person as she spoke their name.  
  
    "Well, then let's get this over with," Roderich urged, sighing a little, and looking towards Gilbert.  
  
     Gilbert counted everyone for himself, mouthing their names as his eyes darted from one face to the next. Once he was sure that everyone was there, he climbed on top of a medium sized rock and stood up on it, so that he could better see everyone, and better project his voice. The small group that had gathered him watched him as he did this, and he looked down at them. Silence passed for several seconds before he took a deep breath and began to speak.  
  
    "Hey, everyone. Thank you so much for coming out here today. I know you all have busy schedules, and probably had something way better to do with your days than take the time out of it to come and listen to me. This means more to me than you will ever know. Unfortunately, the reason that I've called you all to see me is because I've got some bad news for you all," Gilbert started. His voice had cracked a little at the end.    
  
    He looked at his crowd again. Their previously cheerful or annoyed expressions began to waver after hearing Gilbert's voice crack. Immediately, everyone knew that this was going to be very serious. No one noticed that Ludwig had his face turned away from them, so that they wouldn't see the tears that were threatening to pool up in his eyes.   
  
     Gilbert cleared his throat and continued. "Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this for you guys. I'm just gonna get straight to the point. Long story short, Ludwig and I went to the hospital yesterday." He glanced towards Elizabeta, "Liz, that's why I was late for our fencing lessons yesterday. I didn't want to tell you until I was able to tell everyone at once, and I wanted to tell you all in person." He turned his attention back to the group as a whole, "The doctor told me and Ludwig that I have a brain tumor. It's a bad bitch, guys. They can't get rid of it. I've got about a week left to live if I'm lucky."  
  
    A dead silence fell over the group. For a moment, the whole world seemed to stand still. The birds stopped chirping. The wind stopped blowing. The leaves didn't rustle. No one dared to breathe. Everyone who had been gathered in the park that morning were too stunned to speak. None of them knew what to say. None of them knew how to react.   
  
    "Wh-what...?" Elizabeta finally choked out.  
  
     "I said I'm dying, Elizabeta. In a week's time, I'm not going to be here anymore," Gilbert repeated.  
  
     Finally, everything that had happened yesterday started to make sense. The reason that Gilbert was late. Why he had been taking a nap so late in the day. Why he seemed so tired, and so serious. The reason that he had wanted to know what she would have said to him if he were dying in her arms. The reason for his confession. It was because he was dying.   
  
     Elizabeta couldn't believe that she hadn't picked up on the signs. They were so obvious now that she had to think of them. But really, who  _would_  have picked up on signs like that? No one's first thought at the sign of strange behavior from a friend is that they're dying. It all felt so surreal to her. It felt like a bad dream that she would be waking up from at any moment now. Unfortunately, she knew that this was not the case. No, this was real, and there was nothing to be done about it.   
  
     Elizabeta started shaking. Tears started streaming down her face, and it wasn't long before she started full-on crying. She collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands, crying into them. Roderich's attempt at keeping her on her feet had failed.   
  
     One by one, Gilbert received reactions from the rest of his friends. Francis' came right after Elizabeta's. A silent sob escaped from his mouth before his lips moved to form the words "Oh God", but no sound came from them. His vision was blurry with the tears that were now pouring from his eyes, but he couldn't say a damn word. The shock of this all had taken his voice away.   
  
     Antonio and Feliciano joined Elizabeta and Francis in their tears. Kiku, Lovino, and Roderich weren't exactly sure how to react. They were trying their hardest not to let tears fall from their own eyes, but it was nearly impossible. Ludwig was just barely holding himself together.  
  
    Gilbert watched the scene unfold with a heart as heavy as lead, which soon shattered like glass that had been dropped onto a hard floor. It was enough bad enough that he had to see his brother cry, but Ludwig was just one person. Now, standing in front of him, there were eight people crying. Eight people with a look of utmost defeat in their no longer sparkling eyes. Eight people whose lives were directly affected because of Gilbert's situation. This was all his fault. It didn't matter if there was nothing he could do about it. They were still crying because of him. He hated that feeling.  
  
     "Guys, please don't cry for me..." he spoke up again, his breath hitching. "Please, this isn't the only thing that I wanted to tell you guys today. Just calm down for a second and listen to what I have to say," he pleaded.  
  
     It took a while, but everyone was eventually able to calm down enough to pay attention to Gilbert again. Gilbert took another breath, trying to steady his voice before speaking again. "Guys... Guys, I wanna go out with a bang. I'm not- I'm not just going to sit around and let the rest of my life slip away from me. If I've only got a week left to live, then this is gonna be the best damn week of my life, understand? Last night, I made a bucket list. I'd like to cross at least one thing off of this bucket list every single day until I die. A lot of the things that I have on there are a little wild, and of course, they're all things that can be completed in a day! The reason that I called all of you here today was because I want you all to complete these tasks with me. You're my best friends, and I want the last days of my life to be spent with you. So who's with me?"  
  
     One by one, he received his answers from the seven friends that he had gathered.  
  
     "I am."  
  
     "Let's do it."  
  
     "I'm with you."   
  
     "It'll be awesome!"  
  
     "We'll make your last days special."  
  
     "This week will be something that none of us ever forget."  
  
     "We're all in this for you, Gilbert."  
  
    Gilbert smiled broadly at the responses. His smile was contagious. When the others saw Gilbert's smile, they began to smile, as well.   
  
     "Awesome! Now, since there are nine of us in all, I'm going to call us the Fellowship of the Bucket List! You know, like in Lord of the Rings they have the Fellowship of the Ring! All of the things that we do this week are going to be like our journey to Mordor! It's gonna be tough, but it'll make our bonds stronger, and all of it will be worth it in the end," Gilbert told them. He then propped his hands up on his hips. "So, is everyone ready to find out what the first task is?" he asked them.  
  
     All of Gilbert's friends nodded determinedly, which only made his smile more prominent. "Alrighty! Then, the first thing on my Super Awesome Bucket List of Awesomeness is... Wait for it..." He paused for dramatic effect. " **A DRAG PHOTO SHOOT!** "  
  
    Most of the "Fellowship" looked at him in confusion. A drag photo shoot? So everyone was supposed to dress in drag and have pictures taken of them? It seemed a little odd, and definitely not something that Ludwig or Lovino would want in on. Almost everyone else seemed neutral to the idea. The only exception was Francis, who honestly seemed extremely excited at the prospect of it. These reactions were exactly what Gilbert was expecting, and it made him confident that this week was going to be every bit as fun as he had hoped it would be.   
  
     "A lot of you look confused as to what exactly I mean by 'drag photo shoot'. To put it simply, all of the guys are going to dress up in poofy, frilly ballgowns, and Elizabeta's gonna wear a fancy suit! We'll take pictures of everyone, and when we're finished, I'm going to post all of the pictures onto every social media site that I have an account on!" Gilbert exclaimed.  
  
    "Oh,  _fuck no._  If you think you're getting  _me_  into a fucking ballgown, you've got another thing coming, bastard! There are a lot of things that I'll do for you, but dressing in drag is  _not_  one of them. Why couldn't you have put something  _normal_  on your bucket list, like skydiving or breaking a simple world record or something like that?" Lovino protested.  
  
    "Because that would be unawesome," Gilbert answered simply, pouting at Lovino and crossing his arms.   
  
    Feliciano frowned and started tugging on Lovino's arm. "Come on,  _fratello!_  You told Gilbert that you'd do this with him and now you have to do it! He's only got a week left to live and I know you don't like him very much but come on, you've gotta be heartless if you don't spend this time with him! Come on, Lovino, please, please, please, please,-"  
  
    "Oh, for God's sake- Alright, alright, I'll do it! Would you shut up and stop tugging on my arm like that??" Lovino shouted, pulling his arm away from Feliciano's grip. Feliciano shut up instantly and smiled at his brother, folding his hands behind his back. Gilbert smirked.  
  
    "Where are we doing this crazy photoshoot anyways?" Elizabeta asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
    "And where are we going to get outfits that aren't crazy expensive?" Roderich inquired.   
  
    "Oh, and who's taking the pictures?" Antonio questioned.   
  
    "This all actually sounds like fun to me. I'll take the pictures, if that's okay with everyone else," Kiku offered.  
  
    "Oh, I'll take pictures, too!" Elizabeta piped up.  
  
    "And I have loads of dresses and suits back at my home! I love to make them, you know," Francis reminded.   
  
    "Shouldn't we do the shoot here in the park...?" Ludwig asked.   
  
    "Yes, yes, yes and yes! Ugh, you guys are all just the best! So first things first, we'll all go to Francis' house, pick out our clothes, change, and then come back to the park. On the way back to the park, Elizabeta and Kiku will stop by their houses to get their cameras, and when we get to the park, we'll jump right into action! Sound good, everyone?" Gilbert asked.   
  
    No one questioned him. Everyone nodded. When Gilbert was sure that he had everyone's agreement, he began leading them out of the park. However, before they made it to the park's entrance, Elizabeta grabbed Gilbert by the arm and pulled him away from the group. Gilbert grunted softly, and turned his head to look at Elizabeta, a confused look on his face.   
  
     "Liz, what're you doing?" he asked her.  
  
     "Gilbert, we need to talk. About what happened last night. What you said to me before you left me in the park. I need some answers," Elizabeta whispered.  
  
     "Gilbert, Elizabeta, what's going on? Is everything alright with you two?" Roderich's voice suddenly interrupted. He was standing a few feet behind the both of them.   
  
     Gilbert turned his head to look at Roderich. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine, Roddy. Tell the guys to keep walking. Liz and I will catch up with you soon," he assured. Roderich raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless, did as he was told. Gilbert turned his attention back to Elizabeta.  
  
     "I don't know what you want me to say, Liz. What is there to talk about?" he asked her.  
  
     "Well- For starters, you can tell me what on earth you meant by it!" Elizabeta exclaimed.  
  
     "What do you mean?" Gilbert asked.  
  
     "You told me you loved me, Gil," Elizabeta said.  
  
     "Because I do," Gilbert told her.  
  
     "Then what...- I mean, why would you...- H-How long...? I-I..." Elizabeta stuttered. She wasn't sure where to go from here. There were so many questions she had that she wanted answers to, but she knew that Gilbert wouldn't give all of them to her.   
  
     "I had to tell you, Liz. I just had to. I've only got a week left to live, and I know I could never rest in piece if I had taken my feelings to my grave. You had a right to know. That's why I had to say it," Gilbert told her.  
  
     "But Gil, I-I don't... I  _love_  you, Gil. I really do. But I don't think that it's in the way that you need me to. Maybe it is. Oh, Gil, I don't know..." Elizabeta whimpered. She sounded as though she was on the verge of tears again, and looked like it, too.  
  
     "I don't need you to love me like anything, Liz. I'll be fine. It isn't the end of the world. Just think about it a little, alright? But later. Forget about it for now. We can talk again later," Gilbert said. With that, he leaned forward to peck her lips briefly and gently before pulling away and following after the others.  
  
     The Fellowship made their way to Francis' house in under twenty minutes. No one lived far away from the park, so no one had driven there in the first place, and all of them had walked the journey to Francis' home. Francis easily had the biggest house out of all of Gilbert's friends. It was extremely extravagant considering that he was the only one who lived there. Then again, he did like to have people stay with him all the time and he loved to hold parties, not to mention the fact that he used the house to store all of his designs, fabrics, patterns, finished outfits, and other things. The house was put to good use.  
  
    Francis let everyone inside and began leading them to the section of the house where he kept all of his outfits. Everyone had been there at least once before, but they still took the time to marvel at the gorgeousness of the huge two-story house. It was big and it was white and on the inside. Each room was painted a different color, but they all complimented each other in such a strange way that they all wondered how Francis could have ever put it together (for they knew he had designed it himself). The furniture was beautiful and the entire house smelled like flowers (mainly lilies and roses, for those were his favorites, and he had a plethora of vases around the house filled with them).  
  
    The hallways were all white. The walls and the floors were made of marble. There were very long red carpets that ran the length of each hallway, and also up and down the staircases, which were also white and made of marble. The particular room that Francis led them to (which was probably the biggest room in the house), was painted in a dark red. The floor was dark hardwood. The entire room was filled with stainless steel racks that held hundreds of dresses, ranging from big poofy ballgowns to short summer dresses and everything in between. Francis beamed upon it proudly when he threw the oak double doors to it open.  
  
    "Welcome to the dress room!" he exclaimed, gesturing to it in a rather grandiose manner.  
  
    Gilbert gasped in delight. "Oh, whoaaaa! Francis, this is fantastic! Oh, we've got everything we need here!" He ran into the room and then turned around to face the group. "Okay, first, I want all of the guys to pick out the poofiest, fanciest ballgowns they can find! After that, we'll take Liz to get her suit!" he exclaimed.   
  
    Lovino, Roderich, and Ludwig let out their obligatory groans before walking into the room and beginning to search down the aisles or racks for a ballgown that suited their tastes. Kiku said nothing, but walked rather quickly towards one of the racks in the back of the room. Feliciano, Francis, Antonio and Gilbert started laughing and each of them ran off in different directions to find a dress that they liked. Elizabeta giggled as she watched them all go and stood at the entrance to the room, waiting for them all to come back.   
  
    Francis was the first to return. He had known what he wanted to wear from the very moment he heard what Gilbert had planned. Kiku returned next. It only took him a few minutes of looking around on that one rack to find the dress that he liked best. Feliciano was after that, followed by Gilbert, then Antonio. Roderich came after that, and then Ludwig, and finally Lovino. Once everyone was together again, carrying their ballgowns, Francis led the fellowship to another room.  
  
    This room was entered through oak double doors as well. The floor was covered in a soft, dark grey carpet, and the walls were painted navy blue. More stainless steal racks were lined through the room, each with men's suits and tuxedos on it. This room was a lot smaller than the last one, mostly because Francis enjoyed making women's clothes more than he enjoyed making men's clothes, but there was still a fairly large selection to choose from.  
  
    "Well, get going then, Liz! Go pick your suit!" Gilbert urged, pushing Elizabeta towards the center of the room.  
  
    Elizabeta laughed. "Whoa, chill out, Gil! I'm going, I'm going!" she said.  
  
    It took Elizabeta a lot less time to find her favorite suit than it took the men to find their dresses. Once she came back, Francis quickly led everyone to the room where he kept all of his shoes, jewelry, and other such accessories. He had everyone pick out shoes, and anyone who wanted accessories could take them.  
  
    After that, he lead them to the room that he had renovated to have dressing stalls in it. This room was painted with a very light shade of pink, and the floor was made out of a fuzzy white carpet. There were ten changing stalls in the room. Each of them were medium sized and had mirrors lining each of the three little walls, while a small green bench was in the middle of the stall, in case you needed to sit while you tried something on. The doors were thick and wooden and had locks on them. Everyone took their new outfits into one of the dressing stalls, leaving only one of them vacant, and they began trying their outfits on.   
  
    Francis was the first one to finish changing. His dress was definitely of a very extravagant nature. The top was royal blue in color, while the puffy sleeves were white. The skirt was very long, very flowy, very poofy, and had the same pattern and colors of the French flag. He had a thick red ribbon tied around his neck and a crown of faux lilies and roses on his head. He had long white gloves that went up all the way to the ends of his sleeves. His shoes were blue high-heels.   
  
    The next to finish dressing was Elizabeta. It was not at all hard for her to put on a man's suit. Her pants were grey, as was her jacket. The jacket was fairly long and had tails on it. The shirt underneath the jacket was white and had ruffles all down the chest. Her bowtie was dark red. Her dress shoes were shiny and black. She had her hair tied back in a low ponytail with a fancy, lacy purple bow.   
  
    Next came Feliciano, who also had experience with dressing in drag, as he had to do it when he was a child. The dress that he chose reminded him of the one that he had worn when he was little, which brought back fond memories. The dress was a solid light green color, except at the bottom of the skirt and around the waist, which were both lined with forest green. The skirt was a lot poofier than Francis' and only reached to above his ankles instead of going all the way to the floor. The sleeves weren't that poofy. His shoes were black mary-janes, and he had a bonnet made out of a plain white bandanna tied around his head.   
  
    Kiku was finished only a few minutes later. His dress was a soft pink color, with short, very poofy sleeves that had hot pink lace lining the ends of them. There was hot pink lace tied around the waist, as well, and around the end of the skirt. The skirt was poofy and reached the floor. It flowed out around him when he twirled. His shoes were pink ballet flats and he wore white gloves that matched Francis' in length. He wore a small golden crown on his head. He wore a gold necklace with a circular blue pendant. His outfit looked very much like that of Princess Peach.  
  
    Gilbert came out next. His dress was a night-sky blue, sleeveless, slim-fitting dress with a skirt that went to his feet and hardly poofed out at all. The entire dress had been decorated with silver sequins that made the dress look like a starry night sky. There was a slit in the dress that went all the way up to his thigh. He had matching gloves that were the same length as Francis', and a silver tiara on his head. The outfit was completed by silver high-heels, as well as a silver choker around his neck.   
  
    Antonio was the next one. His dress was almost exactly alike to Kiku's. A solid color dress (with the exception of the lace at the ends of the sleeves, around the waist, and around the end of the skirt) with short poofy sleeves, a poofy, floor length skirt that flowed around him when he twirled, ballet flats, gloves, a crown, and a gold necklace with a blue pendant. The only difference to this dress was the colors. Instead of the main color being soft pink, it as yellow, and the lace was orange. The gloves and the ballet flats were yellow, as well.  
  
    Roderich reluctantly came out of the his dressing stall next. His dress was lavender in color. The top had very long sleeves that made tails at his wrists, which went down a rather long way. There were golden spherical buttons going from the top of the top to the bottom of it; one row on the right side and one row on the left side, effectively making the top look like a double-breasted jacket. The skirt was slightly poofy and went down to his feet. The bottom was lined with a dark purple lace. His shoes were black high-heeled boots. He wore no gloves, nor other accessories.   
  
    Ludwig came out after Roderich. His dress was slim-fitting and sleeveless just like Gilbert's. However, this dress was devil-red in color. He wore no gloves, but he did have a rather large bow headband in his hair, which was the same color as the dress. His shoes were flats, and also the same color as the dress.  
  
    And finally, (though he had actually finished dressing himself much earlier than most of the others, given the fact that he had been in the same situation as Feliciano when they were little, but had refused to come out before everyone else had), Lovino showed himself to the others. His dress was exactly alike to Feliciano's, with the exception that his main color was pink, and all the linings were red. He wore a white bandanna-bonnet in his hair just as Feliciano did, and his shoes were also black mary-janes.   
  
    When he had the chance to see everyone wearing his beloved creations, Francis gasped in delight, almost squealing as he fawned over all of them. Gilbert took a long hard look at every single one of them, including himself, before smiling triumphantly and bursting out laughing. He was so proud of his work.   
  
    "Oh, everyone looks so cute!" Elizabeta squealed, and Francis nodded eagerly in agreement. Feliciano, Gilbert, Antonio, and even Kiku were smiling, while Roderich, Ludwig and Lovino all had enormous scowls on their faces. However, despite how much they detested their current situation, none of them said anything.  
  
    "Alright, now, all we have to do is run to Liz and Kiku's houses, and then we'll be all set to go back to the park!" Gilbert exclaimed.  
  
    The Fellowship wasted no time in leaving Francis' house and walking out of his neighborhood, towards Elizabeta's first, since it was closer. When they arrived at her house, the rest of the Fellowship stayed outside while Elizabeta ran into her house and quickly grabbed her camera. When she brought it back out, the group immediately started towards Kiku's house. Once again, they waited outside while Kiku went into his house to grab the camera. Once he had done so, all nine of them walked back as quickly as they could to Rosemary Park.  
  
    "So, where do you think is the perfect spot to take these ridiculous pictures, Gilbert?" Roderich asked once they had arrived.   
  
    Gilbert placed a hand on his chin in thought. After a few seconds, he turned his head to look at Elizabeta and Kiku. "Well, since you two are our photographers, I say that you two should decide on the spot together! We'll take the pictures wherever you decide!" he said.   
  
    Elizabeta and Kiku both nodded and began discussing with each other which part of the park would be the best spot to take pictures. Eventually, they decided on the fountain, since it was surrounded by flowerbeds, it was sunny, and it was overall the prettiest place in the park. Once they had told everyone of their agreed decision, everyone headed towards the fountain.  
  
    Now, it wasn't like the Fellowship of the Bucket List were the only people in the park. It was a very nice, very popular park. Of course there were other people there. And the Fellowship got a lot of strange looks, for sure. After all, it wasn't everyday you saw a group of eight men and one woman dressed in drag, let alone taking pictures in the park. Some people gave the group dirty looks, others just stared in awe. Quite a few people started laughing and smiling, and they watched the photoshoot take place.   
  
    Elizabeta and Kiku made sure that the group got  _lots_  of pictures. Gilbert directed most of the poses. They took group shots and pair shots and trio shots and solo shots. Everyone got a picture with everyone else. They made as many different combinations as possible. There were sassy poses, cutesy poses, awesome boss-like poses, pictures of people ball dancing together, and everything in between. It wasn't entirely appropriate, but Gilbert even managed to get a kiss from Elizabeta, and Kiku took a picture of that, too. Before the day was over, Kiku set his camera up on the tripod that he had brought with him, set the timer, and the fellowship took one great, crazy as fuck group picture. It was by far everyone's favorite when they had the chance to see them all later.   
  
    By the end of it all, everyone was laughing and smiling at each other, teasing each other, pushing each other around, and having a better time than any of them had had in a long while. Even Roderich was teasing Gilbert, and though they were trying to hide it, Gilbert caught glimpses of smirks and snickers coming from Ludwig and Lovino.   
  
    "Oi, Gil, this was like, one of the best ideas you've ever had,  _amigo,_ " Antonio said, in between gasps for breath (for he had lost it since he was laughing so hard), throwing his arm around the silver-haired German's shoulders.  
  
    Francis came up on Gilbert's other side and threw his arm around Gilbert's shoulders, as well. " _Oui,_  Gilbert, I've never had this much fun putting on a dress before!" he exclaimed.  
  
    "Ah, thanks, guys. For everything. Today's been one of the best days of my life," Gilbert said, smiling at his two best friends before his eyes wandered to Elizabeta.   
  
    She looked amazing in that suit. Well, she had always looked amazing no matter what, but there was a little extra magic in her appearance today. She was smiling and laughing and hugging Feliciano while pushing Roderich around. Gilbert had never seen her so happy before. That happiness was because of him. It made him feel better about all of this. Even if he would have to leave her soon, at least he knew that he had brought her some joy before he went. He smiled at her, softly, lovingly. Whether or not Elizabeta saw the emotions in his eyes, Gilbert would never know, but she caught his smile and smiled back at him, just as softly, and, maybe it was just Gilbert's imagination, but it looked like she was smiling just as lovingly, as well.   
  
    The Fellowship departed from the park about an hour after they had finished the photoshoot. By then, the sun had almost finished setting. Elizabeta and Kiku downloaded their pictures to their computers and emailed them to Gilbert as soon as they got home. Gilbert, who had been waiting for the emails and was refreshing his page about every two minutes to see if he had gotten them yet, smiled broadly and started laughing when they finally arrived. He saved every single one of them to his computer before opening tabs for every single social media site that he had an account on and posting all of the pictures to each one of them, giving them captions and crazy descriptions and tagging his friends in them.  
  
    For that moment, all the sadness and fear that had been present this morning, when Gilbert had revealed to his friends that he was dying, had suddenly melted away. Everyone had almost seemed to have forgotten why they had even been doing the photoshoot in the first place. They had all been having so much fun that any negative thoughts had seemed to disappear. Or at least, the worry had diminished somewhat, and Gilbert was glad of that. Very glad.   
  
    After he had finished uploading all of the pictures, Gilbert closed all of his social media tabs and returned to his email tab. He started a new email and addressed it to everyone in the Fellowship save himself and Ludwig, who both already knew the plan for the next day. Gilbert snickered to himself as he typed the email out.  
  
_To my dearest awesome companions in the Fellowship of the Bucket List,  
  
Today was just so AWESOME!!! I can't even BEGIN to tell you guys how much fun I had today. I just wanted to tell each and every one of you thank you for being awesome and showing up today when I asked you to and being awesome with me and doing that awesome photoshoot, even though I knew some of you didn't really want to at first. But you all ended up having fun in the end, right? Don't deny me! I know these things ;)  
  
Anyways, I'm not going to tell MOST of you what I have planned for tomorrow until you all meet me in Rosemary Park tomorrow at the same time we met this morning. The only exception is that I am going to send a separate email to Francis, because I am going to need his help with something. However, I suppose that I am going to have to give you a hint in order for this to be as awesome as it possibly can be.  
  
You all know the awesome story of Romeo and Juliet, don't you? If you don't, I feel so terribly sorry for you and I must say that you are an unawesome, uncultured swine. Anyways, I suggest that you do a little more research on it tonight. You know, maybe read a few sections from the original script. Watch some movies, or cartoons or whatever other stupid stuff you can find on YouTube. Make sure you know as much as you can about it by tomorrow. That's all I'm going to say.  
  
Good luck, losers ;)  
  
-THE AWESOME GILBERT_  
  
    Gilbert then pressed the send button. Once the email had sent to all of the people that it needed to be sent to, Gilbert started another email that was addressed only to Francis. He typed this email up with lightning speed and finished it within five minutes. He pressed the "send" button, and after he had done so, he opened a few more tabs and got some last minute preparations for tomorrow out of the way before closing the internet browser and shutting his laptop down.  
  
    "Oi, Luddy," he called. Ludwig, who had been cleaning something in the kitchen, turned around to look at his brother.  
  
    " _Ja?_ " he asked.  
  
    "I'm heading to bed. Gotta be up early for tomorrow! I'm sure it's going to be even more awesome than today!" Gilbert exclaimed, standing up from the chair that he had been sitting in.  
  
    Ludwig smiled softly and nodded. "Right.  _Gutte nacht, bruder,_ " he said.  
  
    " _Gutte nacht,_  Ludwig!" Gilbert exclaimed.   
  
    Ludwig watched as Gilbert sprinted from the living room and up the stairs, towards his bedroom. He listened as the bedroom door slammed shut, and all was silent after that. No signs that anything was amiss. Ludwig was assured, for the moment, that he could sleep easy tonight, knowing that his brother would still be there in the morning. It wouldn't be many more nights that he would have the pleasure of knowing that fact. Sighing softly, Ludwig put his rag down, leaving it on the counter, before deciding to retire for the night as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h o n e s t l y why did I bother picking this fic up again tbh. The writing is so bad, I have to spend hours editing it just to make it look decent. Note to self; I'm never posting an old fic on ao3 ever again. 
> 
> But no, I really love this fic and I am glad that I'm able to share it with you guys finally. The direction is changing a lot from what I had originally intended, but that's fine. I actually like it better this way. Hope you guys are enjoying it, too. Love you <3
> 
> PS: In case it wasn't apparent, since Gilbert had decided to name his little group of friends "The Fellowship of the Bucket List", I decided to give this chapter a name that was a play on the chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring titled "The Council of Elrond", which is the chapter where the Fellowship comes together for the first time. ;)


	4. Sharp Sauce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert gets his friends together to help him preform a hilarious reenactment of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette, complete with oddly appropriate pop culture references and hilarious narration done by Gilbert himself.

Ludwig and Gilbert were in the park about thirty minutes earlier than everyone else the next morning. Well, everyone else except Francis, that was. Since he was needed to help with Gilbert's awesome plan of awesomeness for today, he got to the park around the same time that Gilbert and Ludwig had. Francis had driven to the park today, but only because he had some boxes to bring with him that he didn't feel up to carrying all the way there. Ludwig and Gilbert had helped him unload the boxes from his car, and the three men brought the boxes up to the small stage that was in the park.

The stage wasn't used much. It wasn't like there were nightly or weekly or even monthly events planned for it. Rarely, there would be a concert or party or something of the like in the park and the stage would be used, but other than that, it was neglected.

Gilbert found it a shame. It was a lovely stage, after all. It was pretty big, had a lot of backstage space, and the sound carried well. There was a lot of space around it for people to gather and watch whatever was going on. If all went according to plan today, the stage would be more crowded than it ever had been before.

Francis, Gilbert, and Ludwig brought the boxes back stage and opened them. The boxes were filled with Elizabethan era styled costumes and props. They were obviously not actually from that time. They were very new-looking and made with very high quality fabrics and stitches and such, but they looked authentic nonetheless. Francis had obviously made them. He and Gilbert grinned at each other, and Ludwig began to take the costumes and props out of the boxes and hang them up on the racks that had been set up back there for costume holding.

Afterwards, Gilbert and Francis walked with each other towards the entrance to the park, while Ludwig stayed backstage with the costumes. Francis and Gilbert awaited the arrival of their other friends. The first to arrive was Antonio. He rushed to his friends and hugged them both tightly. Gilbert and Francis laughed and hugged him back. After Antonio, Elizabeta came, followed closely by Roderich. Kiku arrived next, and finally, Feliciano and Lovino. Once the Fellowship had gathered together once again, Gilbert and Francis led them all back to the stage.

 

Once Roderich saw the stage, he began to put the pieces together. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on here, even though no one else seemed to have a clue. He couldn't decide if he was excited for it or scared of it. Then again, he didn't think he was going to enjoy crossdressing, but he had... Maybe Gilbert wasn't quite as stupid as Roderich had always thought. Or it could just be the sympathy talking.

When they made it to the stage, Gilbert turned around to look at all of his friends again. "Alright, now, does anybody wanna guess what _awesome_ thing I have planned for us to do today??" he asked excitedly.

"I do," Roderich said, almost immediately, causing everyone to look at him with somewhat surprised expressions on their faces. No one really expected him to participate more than he really had to in Gilbert's schemes.

However, Gilbert just smiled. "Alright, you have the floor, Roddy! What's your guess??" he asked.

"We're going to put on a play, aren't we? We're going to reenact _Romeo and Juliet_." Roderich answered.

"You are corrrrect!" Gilbert shouted. Immediately, all heads turned to face him again. Looks of surprise, curiosity, and even excitement were plastered on each of their faces.

"We're doing a Shakespeare reenactment!?" Feliciano asked excitedly, beginning to jump up and down, much to his brother's annoyance.

Gilbert nodded. "That's right! We're going to put on the most awesome _Romeo and Juliet_ play that anyone has ever seen! But what's better is that we're going to improvise it! We'll act out all of the most important scenes, and we'll make it crazy funny and it's gonna be so awesome that no other version of it will ever compare! And we'll be recording the whole thing with Francis' video camera!" he exclaimed.

Elizabeta smiled. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" she said excitedly.

"Do you have all of our characters picked out, _amigo?_ " Antonio inquired, grinning broadly.

Gilbert nodded again. "Yeah, and Francis brought costumes! They're all backstage! Come on, let's go!" he urged.

The rest of the fellowship followed Gilbert onto the stage and walked backstage with him, where Ludwig was guarding the costumes. Everyone gathered around the costume rack and waited for their parts to be given to them. Gilbert stepped onto a chair that was by the costume rack and looked down at the group just liked he had done when he was standing on the rock the previous day.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" he commanded. "Now, I did some extensive research last night and this morning, and I have picked out the parts for each of you, and the scenes that we will be acting out! If you don't remember a scene, no one cares! Just improvise! Let's see where this crazy train takes us!

"First things first, I get to be the awesome Romeo. I am the main character because I am awesome and it was my idea! I also get to be the narrator, since I am the only one besides Ludwig who knows what we're doing! Second, Elizabeta, since you are the only girl here, you get to be my awesome Juliet! You better not make me regret not choosing Francis for the part! Understand?" he instructed.

Elizabeta laughed, but nodded determinedly. "I shall play her to the very best of my abilities, Gil!" she promised.

Gilbert grinned. "Great! Now, Ludwig, you are going to be Friar Lawrence, got it?"

Ludwig nodded. " _Ja,_ " he answered.

"Awesome! Lovino, you're going to be Mercutio!" Gilbert declared.

Lovino hummed passively. “Sure.”

"Feliciano, you are going to be Juliet's Nurse, okay? Just for the heck of it, we're going to call you Nurse Joy!" Gilbert said, starting to snicker.

"Okay!" Feliciano agreed, also laughing.

"Francis, you're going to be Tybalt," Gilbert said.

"I shall do my best, sire," Francis promised, bowing playfully to Gilbert.

"Roderich, you're going to be Paris!” Gilbert said.

Roderich rolled his eyes, knowing that Gilbert probably picked that part for him just to antagonize him. Roderich had been hoping to get someone more prominent and noble, rather than the prissy prince who was rejected by Juliet. "Very well," he said, sighing softly.

"Antonio, you get to be my awesome cousin Benvolio!" Gilbert assigned.

"Alright, _amigo,_ I'll do my best!" Antonio said.

"And finally, Kiku, you get to be the Prince of Verona, as well as both of the Capulet parents and both of the Montague parents!" Gilbert said.

Kiku nodded. “I shall do my best, Gilbert."

"Alright! Now, all that's left to do is get into our costumes and wait for our audience to arrive! I sent out ads and stuff last night! Our show is supposed to start at eleven o'clock, so let's hurry up!" Gilbert urged.

Everyone did as they were told and hurried to get into their costumes. Before long, all of them looked like they were from the Elizabethan era. Francis had set up his camera and set the timer to start recording at exactly eleven o'clock, and all of the Fellowship were ready and excited to start their performance. Gilbert took a look at the turnout that they had so far. There weren't too many people. Gilbert counted fourteen. But it wasn't show time just yet, and he was sure that more people would turn up later in the day.

As soon as the clock on his phone showed eleven o'clock, Gilbert whisper-shouted "It's time! Everyone stay back here until I call for your character, understand??"

"Yes!" everyone whisper-shouted back in unison.

Gilbert gave them all a thumbs up. "Awesome! Now, let the magic begin!"

Gilbert rushed out onto the stage and stood at the very front of it. He looked down at the spectators that had gathered, grinning broadly. He cleared his throat. Everyone looked up at him. Once he was sure he had everyone's attention, he began to speak.

"Oh, my awesome guests! Thank you and welcome to the Fellowship of the Bucket List's awesome _Romeo and Juliet_ performance! We hope to make you both laugh and cry with this, and make it the most awesome play you've ever seen in your life! So, let's get started, shall we??" he asked. The crowd below cheered.

Gilbert's smile broadened. "Right! Then let's begin! Long ago, in a city called Verona, there were two families, who rivaled each other more than any family had ever rivaled each other before! The name of one family was Capulet, and the name of the other was Montague!" he explained.

When the names of his characters were called, Kiku ran onto the stage. He stood first on Gilbert's left side and looked at the audience rather cheerfully. "Hello. I am sir Capulet, head of the Capulet family. It is such a pleasure to meet you all," he said, his voice as cheerful as his face.

He then ran to Gilbert's right side and stood there, glowering at the audience. "Greetings. I am Sir Montague, head of the Montague family. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said, his voice monotonous.

Gilbert smirked. "The Capulets and the Montagues like, totally hated each other! They were always fighting in the streets of Verona, making a mess and shouting nasty things at each other and beating each other up! It was total chaos!" he declared.

It was at this point that Kiku began running from one side of the stage to the other, throwing insults at one character while pretending to be the other. Eventually he began rolling around on the floor as if he were in a fist-fight with some invisible adversary. The crowd started laughing.

"Now, the Prince of Verona had received many complaints from his people about the Capulets and the Montagues. He had had quite enough of this unawesome nonsense! So he broke apart the fighting between the Capulets and the Montagues and decreed that anyone in either of the families who ever disrupted the peace in Verona ever again, would be put to death!" Gilbert exclaimed.

Kiku stopped rolling on the floor and stood up very straight, placing his hands on his hips and putting a very regal look on his face. He held his head high while moving his eyes to look at the floor, as if the Capulet and the Montague were still fighting with each other there. "Now listen here, you foul men. I am tired of your families disrupting the peace in my beautiful city. From now on, it is law that any person from either of your families who disrupts the peace again shall be put to death! Good day to you, sirs," he said.

Gilbert made a waving motion with his hand, signaling to Kiku that his part was over and that he should go backstage. Kiku did as he had silently told to, and Gilbert focused on his crowd again. "Now, in another part of the city, there was a handsome and super awesome man named Romeo! And guess what? That man is me! The awesome Romeo was the son of Sir Montague. But today, he was in a very unawesome mood, for he was in love with a beautiful girl named Rosaline, but she did not return his awesome affection. A man named Benvolio, who was Romeo's awesome cousin, found him moping in a grove of sycamore trees, and tried to cheer him up."

Gilbert then sat on the floor of the stage and pulled his knees up to his chest. He buried his face into them and started pretending to sob. Antonio took this as his cue to come onto the stage. He walked onto the stage, whistling cheerfully, until he looked at Gilbert. When he did so, he gasped and ran to Gilbert's side. He knelt beside Gilbert and started waving his arms around frantically.

"Romeo, Romeo! Whatever is the matter, dear cousin?? Why are you sobbing, so?" Antonio asked hurriedly.

Gilbert threw his head back and fake-sobbed some more. "Oh, woe is me, Benvolio! Alas, I am in love with the most beautiful, awesome, fantastic girl in all of the land! The beautiful Rosaline! Oh, how I have proved my love to her! I have done everything that my awesome brain can think of! Yet still, she rejected _the awesome me!_ " he wailed.

Antonio frowned and pulled Gilbert into a tight hug. He stroked Gilbert's hair gently. "There there, awesome Romeo. If that Rosaline rejected the awesome you after you showed her how much you love her, then she is not worth your awesome love! Please, take heart, my awesome cousin. You will find another, more beautiful, more awesome woman than Rosaline. Any girl worth her salt can see that you are the man to be with!" he assured.

Gilbert shook his head. "No, no, Benvolio... I shall never be good enough! Rosaline was the best! If she does not want me, then who would?" he questioned.

Antonio sighed heavily. He was about to say something else, when Gilbert stood up and put on a proud face once again. He stared down at the audience while motioning for Antonio to go backstage once again. "Benvolio was not successful in cheering his awesome cousin up! But meanwhile, in yet another part of Verona, A young man by the name of Paris was asking Sir Capulet for his daughter Juliet's hand in marriage. Sir Capulet thought that Paris was indeed a good match for his daughter, but told Paris that he must wait two years, since Juliet was not even fourteen yet. Sir Capulet then sent out invitations to a masquerade ball that he held every year as a tradition, and invited Paris to the ball, in hopes that his daughter would fall in love with the man."

It was then that Kiku returned to the stage, and Roderich followed him. Kiku stood on the left side of the stage, while Roderich was on the right side. They faced each other, and Roderich began the scene.

"My good Sir Capulet, I have a question for you!" Roderich said, walking closer to Kiku.

Kiku smiled softly at the Austrian man. "Ah, Paris, my dear boy. It is such an honor to receive a visit from you. Tell me, what is your question?" he inquired.

"Sir Capulet, I have fallen deeply in love with your beautiful daughter. I wish to ask for your blessing of our marriage, for I can think of no one that I would rather spend my life with than her," Roderich said.

Kiku put his hand on his chin and rubbed it, as if he were thinking quite hard about the offer. After a few seconds, he looked at Roderich and nodded. "Yes, Paris, I think that you would make a fine match for my daughter indeed. But I must ask you to wait two years before the marriage. My daughter is not even fourteen yet. She is much too young to be married."

Roderich nodded slowly, a pained look on his face. "It shall be torture to wait so long to be joined with lovely Juliet. Still, I shall push through it. The wait shall be worth it if I may have her beautiful hand," he said.

"Paris, I am holding my annual masquerade ball tonight. It is my wish that you would come to it, and begin spending time with my daughter, in hopes that you may begin to win her heart," Kiku said.

Roderich nodded again. "Nothing would please me more than to come to your party, good Sir. I shall be there," he agreed.

"Splendid! Then I shall see you tonight," Kiku said.

"Indeed. Good day, good sir," Roderich replied.

Kiku and Roderich bowed to each other before turning and walking off stage in opposite directions. Gilbert watched them go and looked back at the audience. He grinned and began his narration again.

"Sir Capulet sent invitations out to all of Verona! Except, of course, for the Montagues. However, somehow, Benvolio came across one of the invitations, and he brought it to Romeo. He suggested that the two of them sneak into the masquerade together so that Romeo could compare all the beautiful women there to Rosaline and see how much prettier they were then she was! Romeo was still very upset, but he agreed to do it, anyways," he explained.

Antonio came back onto the stage, carrying what appeared to be a letter. Meanwhile, Gilbert began pacing around the stage, holding his face in his hands. Antonio came up to him and tapped on his shoulder. Gilbert jumped slightly and turned to look at Antonio.

"Ah, Benvolio... It's you again..." Gilbert said monotonously.

Antonio smiled broadly. "Yeah, Romeo, guess what?? I found something that might cheer you up!" he exclaimed, waving the letter in front of him excitedly.

"...Is it Rosaline's awesome confession of love to the awesome me...?" Gilbert asked.

Antonio shook his head. "Nope! It's something better! It's an invite to the Capulets' annual masquerade ball! Romeo, we should totally go together, you know, sneak in?? And then you can compare all of the women there to Rosaline and see how much prettier everyone else is than she is! It'll be so much fun!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks, Ben, but I'm not really in the mood for a ball or whatever..." Gilbert replied dejectedly.

Antonio pouted. "But Romeo! It's gonna be awesome! We're going to be _Montagues,_ sneaking into a _Capulet_ party, wearing costumes and masks and we can make as much trouble as we want and no one will ever know that it was us because they can't see our faces! Doesn't that sound fun??" he urged.

Gilbert smiled faintly, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, alright, I'll go," he agreed.

Antonio's face lit up like Christmas lights. "Fantastic! Come on, let's go get our costumes ready!" he shouted. He then grabbed Gilbert's hand and led the other man backstage.

A few seconds later, Prussia returned to the stage and faced the audience once again. "So while Benvoliraviolio and the awesome Romeo were getting their costumes ready, the fair Juliet was in her room, discussing with her mother and her nurse, whose name was Nurse Joy, about the prospect of being courted by Mr. Prissy-Pants Paris. She is not that excited about the thought, but she agrees that she will at least _look_ at Paris during the party to see if she _could,_ fall in love with him."

Elizabeta, Feliciano and Kiku came onto the stage. Feliciano followed Elizabeta wherever she went, constantly watching her and asking her quietly if she needed anything. Elizabeta and Feliciano talked together until Kiku stood before them and cleared his throat. Elizabeta and Feliciano both looked at him, curious looks on their faces.

"Mother? What are you doing here?" Elizabeta asked.

"Juliet, my dear," Kiku began in a high-pitched voice, "there is something that I wish to discuss with you."

Elizabeta tilted her head. "Oh? What is it, mother?" she inquired.

"Juliet, your father... He has betrothed you to a man by the name of Paris. You are to marry him in two years’ time. I figured it would be best to tell you now instead of waiting until a year from now, or right before the wedding," Kiku explained.

Elizabeta's face grew dark. Her eyes flared with anger and confusion, and as she spoke, her voice suddenly became very low and dark, sounding masculine. "Wh-what!? F-father betrothed me to some stuck-up cousin of the Prince!? I can't believe that I didn't even have a say in it!! Like what the hell!? I don't want to get married, especially not in two years, and when I hardly know this guy!! I mean what if he's like totally ugly as hell, you know!? And what if he's a jerk!? Or a pushover!? Or some other kind of wimpy man!? I can make it just fine on my own, thank you very much!"

Kiku blinked a few times, looking utterly surprised. "Juliet, my dear, please, calm down. Marriage is not that big of a deal, you know. It just-"

"Not a big deal!? Mother, are you crazy!?" Elizabeta cut in, her face going red with anger. Gilbert actually jumped back. She was one hell of an actress, for sure.

“Juliet, please-“

"Oh, sure, it's not a big deal. It's only a ceremony that will bind me to this random man for the rest of my life and basically make me his slave for as long as I live!! Mother, how could you let Father do this to me!?" Elizabeta continued to scream.

"Juliet, please, be reasonable. The wedding isn't for another two years. A lot can change in that time. Perhaps your father will change his mind. Or perhaps you will grow to love Paris," Kiku suggested quietly.

“Like hell I will!” Elizabeta spat.

Kiku sighed. "Juliet, won't you just _look_ at him? Won't you give him a chance? He's going to be at the masquerade ball tonight. Just one chance. Just judge whether or not you could fall in love with him. Please? For me?" he pleaded.

Elizabeta sighed, the redness draining from her face as her rigid form return to normal. She looked peaceful again, albeit sad. "Alright, alright, Mother... I'll give him a chance..." she agreed quietly.

Kiku smiled. "Good. Thank you, my dear. Now, have Nurse Joy help you get ready for the ball. We only have a few hours," he said.

Feliciano looked at Elizabeta, seeming a bit frightened by her outburst, but took her hand and held it gently. "Yes, yes, come on, Miss Juliet! I-I'll help you get ready and look so nice and pretty and you'll forget aaaall about how angry you are! Doesn't that sound good...?" he asked hopefully.

Elizabeta nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good," she said.

"I shall leave you two alone, then," Kiku said. With that, he bowed his head and headed offstage. Elizabeta and Feliciano soon followed him.

"What about that Juliet girl, eh? Isn't she a fine young thing?" Gilbert asked the audience, pointing his thumb at Elizabeta as she walked past. She blushed softly, and Gilbert whistled at her. When she had left the stage, Gilbert turned to the audience again.

"It was then that the masquerade began! Romeo was still acting very unawesomely upset, and he followed Benvolio around, moping the whole time. Their friend Mercutio was with them. However, when Romeo sees Juliet from afar, he instantly falls very deeply in love with her. As Romeo swoons over Juliet, a Capulet by the name of Tybalt recognizes him and his friends. He tries to start a fight with them, but Sir Capulet stops him. Romeo and Juliet eventually get alone together and they talk and make out and stuff, because, you know, they're totally in love and stuff. Not really, they just think they are. Because, you know. Kids those days. Don't know a thing about love. But anyways! Romeo soon finds out that Juliet is the daughter of Sir Capulet. Juliet finds out that Romeo is the son of Sir Montague! And both of them are like totally so upset and depressed because they've only known each other for like five minutes and they already want to marry each other and have five kids even though Juliet's only thirteen and Romeo's like, what? Seventeen? But they can’t because their families are like, mortal enemies. Ooooh! I wonder how this is going to end..."

Kiku, Feliciano, Francis and Elizabeta entered the stage again, staying on the left side. Antonio and Lovino came onstage next, keeping to the right. Gilbert rushed to join them. Gilbert quickly assumed a depressed position in between Antonio and Lovino. Antonio acted as though he was trying to cheer Gilbert up, and Lovino looked just as bitter as ever. The "Capulets" on the other side of the stage were talking quietly among themselves. Everyone was wearing masks.

Gilbert let out a heavy sigh. "I'm seeing girls. I can see none that are more beautiful than my awesome Rosaline. Can we go now?" he asked.

"No! We can't go until you find someone to take your mind off of Rosaline!" Antonio declared.

Gilbert groaned loudly. "But there isn't anyone-"

It was then that Gilbert looked up and saw Elizabeta. It wasn't hard to act like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life, for in fact it was not an act at all. She really was the most beautiful person that Gilbert had ever laid eyes upon. For that moment, all he focused on was her, trying to recreate the moment when he had seen her for the first time. Or rather, when he had realized just how amazing she was. They had known each other since they were kids, but it was years before Gilbert truly fell in love with her. And when he did, he fell quite hard.

"Hey. Hey! Romeo?? Helloooo anyone in theeere??" Antonio asked, poking Gilbert's face repeatedly. Gilbert was sure that Antonio had been saying something before that, but it seemed that he had really been in an infatuated daze and hadn't heard what it was. Only, this daze was caused by much more than just infatuation.

Lovino smirked and looked at Antonio. "Hey, hey, Benvolio, watch this. It'll be great, trust me," he said. Then, he suddenly gave Gilbert a good slap upside the face. His own face beamed with satisfaction. He'd obviously been waiting for a chance to do that for a while now.

Gilbert shrieked and snapped fully out of his daze. He glared at Lovino, but quickly put a smirk on his face and looked at Antonio. "Oh, Ben, Benny, Benvolio, Benvoliraviolio, oh, thank you so much for getting me to agree to come to this party!" he exclaimed, hugging the Spaniard tightly.

Antonio started laughing. "Oi, are you feeling better now, Romeo?" he inquired.

"Much, much better! For I have seen the most awesome, beautiful girl in all of existence! Far more beautiful than my Rosaline! She is no longer mine. I want _her!_ " Gilbert exclaimed, pointing towards Elizabeta.

It was then that Francis decided to play his part. He turned slowly to look at the three "Montagues" that stood on the opposite side of the stage. He glared at Gilbert and started strutting towards the Montague Trio, seething with anger.

"You!" he shouted with disgust. The Montague Trio stepped backwards as Francis came forward. "I know who you are! You are the son of Sir Montague! And these are your friends!" he shrieked.

"I beg your pardon, good sir, but I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about," Gilbert said confidently, sizing Francis up and refusing to back down once Francis was standing right in front of him.

"Don't fool around with me, you Montague scumbag! How _dare_ you sneak into a Capulet party! How _dare_ you disgrace our presence with your filth! Prepare to pay for your wretched crime, you beast!" Francis shouted.

He grabbed at Gilbert, who shrieked like a little girl and tried to get out of Francis' grasp. Antonio and Lovino rushed to Gilbert's aid, prying him from Francis' grasp and throwing Francis backwards. Gilbert, Antonio and Lovino used this time to run away, sneaking around to the side of the stage where the other Capulets were. Meanwhile, Elizabeta, Feliciano and Kiku looked on and gasped at the sight. Kiku rushed forward and grabbed both of Francis' arms, forcing them behind Francis' back and holding him in place. Francis struggled against Kiku, but could not escape.

"Let me go! I've seen Montagues! They must be stopped! They've come to ruin our party!" Francis shouted.

"Tybalt! Stop! There are no Montagues in this house!" Kiku yelled.

"No, you don't understand, I've seen them! Montague's son was here! He was with his friends!" Francis protested.

"You have no proof of this, Tybalt. I see no Montagues here. If you disrupt the peace of Verona, you will be put to death! Do you want to die, Tybalt?" Kiku inquired seriously.

Francis hung his head and sighed loudly. "No, Sir Capulet," he said, much like a child who was annoyed with his parents for telling him to do something.

Kiku released Francis from his grip. "Good. Now, run along and find some pretty lady to dance with. I am going to return to my daughter," he said.

After that, Francis, Lovino and Antonio left the stage. However, Kiku stayed where he was, as Elizabeta and Gilbert began to act out the scene of Romeo and Juliet meeting for the first time. Gilbert approached Elizabeta, who was making small talk with Feliciano. Gilbert tapped on Elizabeta's shoulder. She squeaked and turned around to look at him. When she did, she gasped quietly and stared at him, refusing to take her eyes away from him, as if he was the most amazing thing in the entire world.

"Oh, my... Wh-whatever have I done to deserve the pleasure of being greeted by such a handsome stranger...?" Elizabeta asked dazedly.

"I have cast my eye upon many a woman, but you, my dear girl, are the most beautiful angel that I have ever seen in all of my life. I was wondering if you would grant me the pleasure of a dance or two, for if I let the opportunity to capture your heart go, I shall never forgive myself. Thou art more beautiful than the loveliest of angels. I am sure that you are just as lovely on the inside as you are on the outside. So what do you say? Would you accept my offer of a dance?" Gilbert asked pleadingly.

Elizabeta blushed darkly. Even if Gilbert was only acting, it made her heart flutter to hear him call her 'beautiful' over and over again. She thought more of it now than she ever would have before, simply because she knew that Gilbert truly thought this of her. At least, that is what he had insinuated when he had told her that he loved her.

"Wh-why, of course! I-I would love to dance with you, sir!" she agreed.

Gilbert smiled and took her hand. He led her to the middle of the stage, where the two proceeded to start waltzing together. Kiku then began walking towards Feliciano. He acted surprised when he saw that Elizabeta was no longer with him.

"Nurse Joy!" Kiku called.

Feliciano rushed over to him. "O-oh, yes, sir??" he asked, almost desperately.

"Where is Juliet? Wasn't she here with you earlier?" Kiku inquired, tilting his head.

Feliciano nodded. "Oh, y-yes, she was, sir! B-but then a-a handsome man came over to us and asked her to dance! H-he said something about wanting to win her heart..." Feliciano informed.

Kiku raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Did he, now?" he asked, and Feliciano nodded. Kiku smiled. "Ah! I bet it was Paris! I'm sure that the two of them will hit it off tonight. This is very pleasing to me. Now, come, let us go find my wife." With that, Kiku and Feliciano went offstage. 

Elizabeta and Gilbert had finished their waltz by now and were in the middle of doing the _Gangnam Style_ dance, just for shits and giggles. Gilbert was seemingly teaching Elizabeta how to do it, while they were both laughing and smiling, and the audience along with them. When Gilbert and Elizabeta finished dancing, they walked together towards the edge of the stage and sat down, with their legs hanging off of it. They looked at each other and gazed into each other's eyes, lovingly, dreamily, longingly.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are, my sweet?" Gilbert cooed, slowly moving his face closer to hers.

Elizabeta blushed and nodded. "Yes, you have, my darling. H-have I told you how awesome and handsome you are...?" she asked.

Gilbert smirked and felt around beside him for Elizabeta's hand. When he found it, he grabbed it, and laced their fingers together gently. "Yes, you have," he answered.

Gilbert then pulled Elizabeta close to him, closed his eyes, and kissed her gently. Elizabeta squeaked and her eyes widened. She knew this had been coming, but it surprised her anyways. Especially the way that Gilbert was kissing her. It wasn't a quick show kiss. Not anything like the ones he usually gave her to tease her. No, this was a real kiss, and Elizabeta found herself kissing him back with the same emotion that Gilbert was putting forth.

When the two pulled away, Gilbert was ecstatic. He couldn't believe he had gotten an actual kiss from Elizabeta. It was one of the only things that he had ever really wanted in life. He couldn’t believe that he had finally achieved it. He felt like, if he had died in this moment, he would have been able to die happy. Not a single regret crossed his mind that could have made him less happy about what had just happened.

"My dearest, awesome love, it has occurred to me that I am so deeply in love with you, yet I do not know your name. Tell me, please, what beautiful name an angel like you has," Gilbert pleaded, trying to break himself out of the daze that he had created for himself once again. He rested his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes deeply. He was going to use the time that he had to be romantic with her as well as he could.

"M-my name is Juliet," Elizabeta stuttered.

Gilbert's face fell. "Juliet...? As in... The daughter of Sir Capulet...?" he asked.

Elizabeta nodded slowly. "Is there something wrong with that...?" she asked.

"It's just that... My love, I am the awesome Romeo! The son of Sir Montague!" Gilbert exclaimed.

Elizabeta's mouth dropped open. "Wh-what...? Y-you are a Montague... And I am a Capulet... We are meant to be mortal enemies...!" she said.

Gilbert tightened his grip on Elizabeta's hand. "But we are not. We love each other. And this stupid, unawesome fight will not stand in our way! My dearest, awesome Juliet. Though you may be a Capulet, I love you far more than I've ever loved anyone else in my life. Tell me, do you feel the same?" he asked her.

Elizabeta nodded her head. "Yes, I do, my dearest, awesome Romeo," she said.

Gilbert smiled. "Then that is all that matters." And he kissed her again.

Elizabeta pulled away first. She looked at Gilbert with a conflicted expression. It wasn't hard, because that was how she was actually feeling. She cleared her throat and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Well... I-I... I must go now, my dearest, awesome Romeo. I'm sure that my mother and my father will be looking for me. My maid will be waiting for me," she told him.

Gilbert nodded slowly. "But, my fair Juliet, when will I be able to see you again...?" he asked, somewhat desperately.

Elizabeta was silent for a moment. Then, she said "I am not sure, but I hope that it shall be soon."

"As do I," Gilbert said.

The two of them stood up together. They looked at one another and bowed to each other. "Farewell, Romeo, my love. I shall see you soon," Elizabeta said.

"Sooner than you think, my fair Juliet," Gilbert promised. With that, Elizabeta left the stage, and Gilbert returned to the center.

"It turns out that Romeo was just _sooo_ in love with Juliet that he couldn't even wait like, another hour to see her again. So, being the creepy stalker that he is, he left the party and walked around the Capulet estate until he heard Juliet calling his name from her bedroom window. He stands below the window, and the two of them say sappy cheesy shit to each other about how much they looove each other and then they freaking start talking about how they want to get married, even though they've only known each other for what, like, an hour?? An hour and a half?? Yeah. Stupid kids. Oh yeah, and Nurse Joy is in Juliet's bedroom the whole time," Gilbert explained with a smirk on his face.

After that, he rushed to the right side of the stage while Elizabeta and Feliciano emerged on the left side of the stage. Gilbert sat low in the shadows of the curtains as he watched Elizabeta talk to Feliciano. He waited for his cue to enter the scene.

"Oh, Nurse Joy, I have met the most wonderful man that a woman could ever hope to meet. He simply swept me away tonight. I love him more than I ever thought was possible to love someone. We have not been apart for half an hour and my heart already aches with longing to see him again. I cannot bear this pain. Oh, Nurse Joy! Whatever shall I do?" Elizabeta asked dramatically.

"What is this wonderful man's name, Juliet? Please, I must know! The way you speak of him has me so entranced!" Feliciano said, swooning.

"His name is Romeo. The wonderful, amazing, handsome, _awesome_ Romeo. But alas... He is a Montague... I could never tell mother and father... Our love must be secret..." Elizabeta explained sadly.

"Ah, but forbidden romance is the most passionate, is it not?" Feliciano inquired, tilting his head.

Elizabtea smiled. "Yes, it is... Oh, Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo? I need you!" she shouted.

Gilbert took this as his cue. He shuffled over to Elizabeta and Feliciano, staying just a few feet away from them, and kneeling so that he had to look up at them, as if they were standing in a window and he was standing below it. "I am here, my love!" he declared.

Elizabeta gasped in shock and delight. She looked down at Gilbert, and Feliciano followed her gaze. "Oh my... He _is_ quite the catch, m'lady. I'll just... Leave you two alone for a little while. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Feliciano said, and with that, he winked at Elizabeta and left the stage.

Elizabeta and Gilbert gazed at each other lovingly. "Oh, Romeo, I knew you would come for me..." Elizabeta whispered to him.

"Of course I did, my love. I could not stand to be away from you for even another second. I have missed you so much, even after only a few minutes," Gilbert told her.

"And I have missed you, my dearest, awesome Romeo. I do not know how I am going to be able to survive the night with you, nor the rest of my days, when we can only meet each other in secret, lest our parents find out and we are separated..." Elizabeta said anxiously.

"Do not worry, my love. We shall find some way to be together, forever. I am sure of it. I will not rest until we do," Gilbert promised. 

"Oh, if only we could... Run away together!" Elizabeta exclaimed.

"Hey... Maybe we can!" Gilbert shouted, his eyes widening as if he had just come up with a brilliant idea.

"What do you mean...?" Elizabeta asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"My love, I have a plan. That is, if you would accept it. But my dear, sweet Juliet, I love you more than anything in this whole world. You are my day, you are my night, you are my flower. I would not trade the universe for our love. So I ask you, my precious, will you marry me? If we are married in secret, your parents cannot prevent it. But once we tell them, they will _have_ to accept it! Then we can be together, forever!" Gilbert asked.

Elizabeta gasped in shock. "Oh, Romeo... Of course! Yes, yes, a million times yes! I will marry you! When shall we be married?" she asked eagerly.

"Tomorrow night! I shall have my good friend Friar Lawrence do it!" Gilbert answered.

"Fantastic!" Elizabeta exclaimed.

"It will be perfect," Gilbert promised.

Elizabeta smiled fondly. "I have no doubt that it will," she said. "But you should probably leave soon. My father or mother will be in to check on me soon. If they see you, they will be furious."

"Do I get a kiss before I leave?" Gilbert asked, somewhat cheekily.

Elizabeta smirked. "If you can climb up to the window."

Gilbert then began to mime climbing up a grapevine, slowly standing up as he climbed further, until he was fully upright. He stood in front of her, smiling triumphantly. "I climbed up to your bedroom. Now, give me a kiss, my fair Juliet!" he commanded.

"What do you say?" Elizabeta asked, pouting.

"Please?" Gilbert asked.

Elizabeta smiled again before leaning forward and kissing Gilbert's lips gently. "Have mercy," Gilbert whispered, smiling broadly. Elizabeta rolled her eyes.

"You better get going, oh awesome Romeo. We'll both _really_ be in trouble if my parents catch you in my bedroom," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I will be back for you, my love. Farewell, my de- _AHHHHHHH!_ " Gilbert pretended to fall out of the window. He landed on the stage on his back and let out a grunt of pain. Elizabeta gasped again and looked down at him.

"Romeo, my love! Are you alright??" she asked desperately.

Gilbert smiled weakly and gave her a thumbs up. "Never better," he croaked out. He then sat up slowly before standing up, blowing a kiss to Elizabeta, and running off stage. Elizabeta watched him go, and after he was gone, she, too, left the stage.

Gilbert then rushed back onstage and faced the audience again. "So the awesome Romeo ran as fast as he could to the cell of his dear friend Friar Lawrence! Romeo tells Friar Lawrence aaaall about how he met the beautiful Juliet tonight and how he talked to her for like an hour and how he fell so deeply in love with her and now they want to be married because that's what people do these days. They marry people a day after meeting each other. Crazy, right? But anyways, at first, Friar Lawrence tries to convince Romeo that he shouldn't be marrying Juliet so soon. He's like the only man that has any common sense in this whole play. However, he eventually gets tired of Romeo's begging and finally agrees to marry him and Juliet, with the hopes that maybe this union will finally stop the fighting between the Capulets and the Montagues."

Ludwig then came onto the stage and sat in the left corner that was closest to the edge of the stage. Gilbert ran over to him quickly, waving his arms frantically. Ludwig stared at Gilbert and raised an eyebrow.

"Friar Lawrence, Friar Lawrence!" Gilbert screeched, stopping in front of Ludwig and jumping up and down excitedly.

"Oh, Romeo, hello there... What's going on with you? It feels like I haven't seen you in forever. Now you are acting far more crazy than usual," Ludwig grunted.

"Yes, yes, because I have some great news!!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Oh, really? What is it?" Ludwig inquired.

"I met the most beautiful girl in all of the world tonight! I have fallen in love with her! She is everything I've ever wanted and more! She's perfect!" Gilbert declared.

"What...? But I thought you were in love with Rosaline..." Ludwig said.

"Pfft, that unawesome chick? Nah, she's old news. She sucks. I'm totally over her. I want to be with Juliet now!" Gilbert declared.

"Well, I am glad that you have... Gotten over the rejection," Ludwig said.

"Even better than that, I've completely moved on and I am ready to start a new chapter in my life! In fact, this new chapter is going to start with my marriage to Juliet!" Gilbert shouted.

Ludwig choked on air. "Your marriage!? But you've only just met her!" he gasped.

"So? What's that got to do with anything?" Gilbert asked irritably.

"You can't marry someone you've just met," Ludwig answered, staring at Gilbert blankly.

"You can if it's true love," Gilbert retorted.

"It's not true love!!" Ludwig shouted, standing up. "You've only known her for a few hours! You can't have fallen so deeply in love with someone in only a few hours! You know nothing about her other than her name and that she looks pretty!"

"I know that she is the one for me! I am going to marry her one way or another! If you won't do it, I'll find someone who will! So are you going to help me or not!?" Gilbert demanded.

Ludwig sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, fine... I'll help you... But only because the union of Capulet's and Montague's children may end this blasted war," he agreed.

Gilbert smiled broadly and pulled Ludwig into a tight hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Friar Lawrence! You're the best friend ever!" he squealed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. When is this wedding supposed to be, anyways?" Ludwig asked.

"I will bring Juliet here tomorrow, in the morning. We will be married then," Gilbert answered.

Ludwig nodded. "I shall patiently await thee."

Gilbert then walked towards the edge of the stage and faced the audience again. Ludwig stayed where he was as Gilbert spoke to the audience. "So the next morning, Romeo returned to Juliet's window, and the two of them managed to sneak away together and go to Friar Lawrence's cell to be married. Friar Lawrence married them, and after that, Juliet returned home, while Romeo goes to meet with Benvolio and Mercutio to tell them both of what's happened."

Gilbert ran to the right side of the stage and waited for Elizabeta to come to him. When she did, he grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together before leading her over to Ludwig. They stood in front of him, both smiling lovingly at each other, and waited for Ludwig to perform the ceremony.

"Alright, alright, let's get this over with," Ludwig said, annoyed, waving his hand dismissively. "Do you, Romeo Montague, take Juliet Capulet, to be your lawfully wedded wife, and to care for her in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Gilbert said, nodding.

"And do you, Juliet Capulet, take Romeo Montague to be your lawfully wedded husband, and to care for him in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?" Ludwig asked, looking at Elizabeta.

"I do," she said, looking like she was about to swoon.

"Then by the power vested in me by someone stupid who doesn't have a problem with a thirteen-year-old marrying a seventeen-year-old after only having known each other for twelve hours, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," Ludwig declared.

Gilbert pulled Elizabeta close to him and went for the kiss as soon as he could. Elizabeta's eyes widened in shock, but still, she kissed back, though she kept her eyes open. When they pulled away, all they did was stare at each other.

Ludwig cleared his throat loudly, making Gilbert and Elizabeta jump slightly and look at him. "Alright, you two, get out of here. I don't want to watch you two making out, and I'm sure that people are getting suspicious by now," he said.

"Oh, right... I should get going now..." Elizabeta said sadly.

"I will see you tonight, my love," Gilbert reminded, kissing her cheek gently.

Elizabeta nodded. "I shall be waiting," she said.

With that, Elizabeta and Ludwig departed the stage, while Lovino and Anotnio entered it once again. They stood on either side of Gilbert while he turned to the audience yet again. "Now, as Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio were walking and talking together, that crazy idiot Capulet Tybalt suddenly recognized them in the street. Like wow what a coincidence, first he sees them at the party and now he's walking on the same street at the same time as they are? What is he like, stalking them, or something? But anyways, he sees them, and he is like, so unawesomely angry. He challenges Romeo to a duel! But Tybalt is now Romeo's cousin by marriage, even if Tybalt doesn't know it yet. Romeo refuses the duel, but Mercutio, who is like so bloodthirsty apparently, decides to duel Tybalt instead. Romeo tries to stop them, but is already too late. Tybalt kills Mercutio. Enraged that one of his best friends has died, Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo quickly flees the scene, but not before the Prince arrives and declares him forever banished from Verona for his crime."

Gilbert, Antonio and Lovino began walking in place together and talking together. Meanwhile, Francis entered the stage from the other side. He stood there and waited for a few minutes before going into action.

"So now we're married, and I couldn't be happier!" Gilbert declared proudly.

"Whoa, that's so amazing, Romeo! See, I told you that you'd get over Rosaline! I told you that you'd find someone better! Maybe next time you'll listen to me sooner, yeah?" Antonio asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Gilbert rolled his eyes playfully. "Yeah, yeah, I guess," he said.

Meanwhile, Lovino scoffed and crossed his arms. "I still can't believe you married someone you've only just met. But whatever. As long as you're happy, I guess."

That was when Francis decided to approach the three "Montagues". He stormed up to them and stood in front of them, blocking their path. "You three!" he shouted angrily, pointing at Gilbert's chest. " _You_ are the Monatgues that sneaked into the Capulet party last night!" he accused.

"Wh-whaaat?" Antonio asked, looking at Francis as if he were crazy. "What Capulet party? We didn't know there was a party. We were hanging out by the river last night."

"You cannot fool me, disgusting Montague pigs! I saw you at the party! You shall pay for making such an intrusion! You-!" Francis shouted, jabbing his finger into Gilbert's chest, "you are Romeo, the son of Montague! I challenge you to a duel! Now bring out your weapon! If you don't accept, I shall run you through with my sword, anyways!"

Gilbert swallowed hard. He put his hands up defensively and backed away from Francis. Lovino and Antonio followed him. "Now, good Tybalt, let us not be hasty. You know what the punishment for disrupting the peace in Verona is," he said quickly.

"The Prince shall never catch me. I shall run away after I kill you. Any price is worth it to rid the world of some Montague scum," Francis hissed.

"But, good Tybalt! I do not wish to fight you; I do not wish to harm you! Please, hold off this duel, at least until you understand the reason for my wishing so!" Gilbert begged.

"Oh, I understand already! You are a _coward!_ You're afraid you will lose to me! And you have every right to be! But I hate cowards... Now man up and fight me, you fool!" Francis shouted.

"I will not fight you!" Gilbert protested.

Lovino groaned loudly. "Oh, Romeo, you really are a coward. I can't believe you're letting this Capulet jerk-bag push you around like this! You're losing your dignity, and losing the dignity of all Montagues, with it! Well, if you're not going to fight this jerk-bag, then I will! Stand back!" he commanded, pushing Gilbert behind him and drawing his sword.

“Mercutio, no!" Gilbert shouted, but it was too late. Francis and Lovino had already begun their "duel to the death".

Gilbert watched Francis and Lovino as they fought wither their plastic swords. After a few minutes, he jumped between the two and tried to stop the fighting. "Guys, guys, stop it, stop it!" he begged.

"Move out of the way, Montague pig-child, or I shall run you through!" Francis shouted. He readied his sword and ran towards Gilbert.

"Romeo, look out!" Lovino screamed. He grabbed Gilbert by the arm and threw him aside. Once Gilbert was out of the way, Francis pretended to stab Lovino with his sword by jabbing it under the Italian's armpit. Lovino gasped in "pain" and stumbled backwards before falling on the ground.

"Mercutio! No!" Gilbert screamed, crawling over to Lovino and quickly pulling the Italian into his lap. "Mercutio, please, stay with me!" Gilbert begged, hugging Lovino tightly and pretending to sob into the Italian's chest. Antonio screamed in horror and knelt beside the two men.

Lovino raised his hand weakly. "I-I-I... I-I'm s-sorry, R-Romeo... I-I have f-failed you, a-and our family..." he stuttered.

"No, Mercutio, stay with us! You haven't failed us! You can't die!" Antonio begged.

"M-my friends... I-I must tell you, b-before I go... I-I left a million dollars in the-" Before Lovino finished his sentence, he went into a very dramatic fake coughing-fit before closing his eyes and sticking his tongue out. Now, he was really "dead".

Gilbert shoved Lovino's "lifeless" body into Antonio's arms before standing up and giving Francis the dirtiest death glare that he could muster. "You _monster!_ " Gilbert screamed, drawing his sword. "You cruel, heartless, despicable beast!"

Francis just laughed. "Oh, so _now_ you're prepared to fight? Wonderful. Have at thee!"

"My name is Romeo Monatgue... You killed my cousin... Prepare to die!" Gilbert shouted. Then, he "stabbed" Francis under the Frenchman's armpit and watched as Francis stumbled backwards, clutching his heart, gasping and panting heavily, until he fell to the floor and was still. A rather over dramatic death indeed.

Antonio looked up at Gilbert, his eyes wide. "Romeo! You've just killed a Capulet! Romeo, you must get out of here before the Prince catches you! You will be put to death if you don't!" he cried.

"You're right... Farewell, my dear Benvoliraviolio! You have been a wonderful friend to me. I could not have asked for anyone better! I shall miss you, but now I must flee. I hope that one day, our paths shall cross again, and it shall be under more agreeable circumstances!" With that, Gilbert fled the stage, just as Kiku entered it from the opposite side.

Kiku gasped in horror upon seeing the two "dead" men on the floor of the stage. "So, it is true, what the citizens have told me..." he muttered. "Romeo Montague has killed Tybalt Capulet!"

"Please, sir, Tybalt challenged him to a duel... Romeo didn't accept, and Tybalt killed my friend Mercutio! It was only then that Romeo attacked Tybalt! You must let him go free!" Antonio begged desperately.

Kiku shook his head. "No, I cannot. The laws of Verona are very firm. Romeo Montague has disrupted the peace of Verona. However, since he was not the one to start the fighting, I shall go easier on him. From this point forward, Romeo Montague is _banished_ from Verona! If his face is ever seen here again, he will be put to death."

With that, Kiku left the stage once again. Soon, Francis and Lovino stood up and followed him. Finally, Antonio left, and Gilbert came running back onto the stage. "So! Romeo was banished from Verona! He was to travel to Mantua the next morning. But he didn't dare to leave Juliet without first saying goodbye. That night, he climbed into her room through the window, where she had been waiting for him, so that they could spend their wedding night together and you know. Do stuff that you do on your wedding night. Ew, gross. But anyways, Juliet heard from Nurse Joy that Romeo had killed Tybalt, her cousin. She was upset with him, and very distraught. Even so, Romeo comforts her, and she realizes that her duty no longer belongs with her kinsman, but with her husband."

Elizabeta came back onto the stage. She sat down a little ways away from Gilbert. Gilbert began pretending to climb up to her bedroom. He pretended to climb through the window and step into her bedroom. Elizabeta looked up at him, and he sat down next to her. He smiled lovingly at her. "Hello, my love," he greeted.

Elizabeta said nothing, but looked at the floor. Gilbert's face fell. "Juliet, my darling, what's the matter?" he asked worriedly.

"Tybalt..." she muttered.

"Oh..." Gilbert said, a guilty look on his face.

Elizabeta looked up at Gilbert, her eyes watering. "You _killed_ him, Romeo! You killed my cousin! I can't believe you!" she wailed.

Gilbert pulled Elizabeta into a tight hug. She fought against him, but he held her tighter. "Juliet, my love, I'm so sorry... But I didn't have a choice! Tybalt was insane. He wished to kill me. He challenged me to a duel, and when I didn't accept, he fought my cousin Mercutio instead! _He_ killed _my_ cousin first! Mercutio had to be avenged... I couldn't let Tybalt cause any more trouble..."

"Wasn't there something else you could have done...?" Elizabeta asked him.

"Maybe... But I didn't have time to think... Please, Juliet, tonight will be the last time that we may see each other for many years. I am banished from Verona, now. I must leave for Mantua in the morning. Please, let us spend our last night together with love, not fighting. Please, I'm begging you," Gilbert pleaded.

Elizabeta sighed heavily. "Alright, my love... We will spend tonight with love. And I forgive you. My duty no longer lies with Tybalt. I am a Montague now. You are my family now," she said.

Gilbert smiled. "Yes, and you are mine."

Gilbert then let go of Elizabeta and looked to the audience again. "Morning came, and Romeo and Juliet said their farewells. Neither of them were sure of when they would be able to see each other again. After Romeo leaves, Juliet's father, who has been totally upset and stressed out over Tybalt's murder, comes to Juliet's room and tells her that she must marry Paris in three days. Juliet can't reveal to her parents that she is married to Romeo, since she knows they would be furious, knowing that Romeo was the man who killed Tybalt. However, she also refuses to marry Paris now that she is married to Romeo. Juliet asks Nurse Joy what she thinks, and Nurse Joy says that Juliet should just forget about Romeo, act like he's dead and marry Paris, who is like ten times more attractive anyways. Juliet tells Nurse Joy how disgusted she is that Nurse Joy would be so disloyal, and decides that she will go to Friar Lawrence for help."

Gilbert then looked at Elizabeta and pulled her into another hug. "It is morning, my love. I must go now," he said to her.

"Oh, Romeo, can't you stay for a little longer...? We won't see each other again for a while... I shall miss you so much..." Elizabeta said sadly.

"I wish I could stay longer, my love, but if I am caught in Verona I shall be executed. I must leave for Mantua before the people of this city wake up, or I will surely be seen," Gilbert told her.

"How will I survive without you, my darling Romeo?" Elizabeta asked desperately.

"You will find away, my fair Juliet. And we will see each other again, someday. I swear it," Gilbert promised.

"I believe you," Elizabeta said.

"Good. Now, do I get a kiss before I leave?" Gilbert asked.

"Of course, my love," Elizabeta said before shyly kissing Gilbert's lips. He grinned and kissed her back.

Gilbert pulled away and stood up. "I am off, my love. Farewell. I shall remember you always, and I shall eagerly await the say when we may see each other again," he said.

"As will I. I love you, Romeo," Elizabeta said.

"I love you too, Juliet," Gilbert said.

"Farewell, my love," Elizabeta said.

"Goodbye, darling," Gilbert said.

With that, Gilbert began pretending to climb down the grapevine. Once he had reached the bottom, he ran off the stage. A minute later, Kiku and Feliciano came onto the stage, entering Elizabeta's bedroom. "Juliet, my daughter!" Kiku called out.

Elizabeta stood up and immediately walked over to Kiku and Feliciano. "What is it, father?" she inquired softly.

"I have news for you!" Kiku declared.

"News...? What kind of news...?" Elizabeta asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Surely you remember that man Paris that I invited to the ball a few nights ago?" Kiku asked.

Elizabeta nodded her head. "Yes, I do. What about him?" she asked.

"I have decided that you are to marry him in three days," Kiku said.

Elizabeta gasped. "Three days?? Father, I am not ready to marry Paris! I cannot marry him in three days!" she protested.

"Well tough noogies. You're going to marry him whether you like it or not. Now I suggest you stop complaining and prepare yourself. Good day." With that, Kiku left the stage, leaving Feliciano and Elizabeta alone.

"Oh, Nurse Joy, what do I do? I cannot marry Paris! I am married to Romeo! But I can never tell my father! He would kill me!" Elizabeta cried.

"If I were you, m'lday, I would marry Paris. It's the best thing, you know. You're never going to see Romeo again, and anyways, he's a criminal! A murderer! He killed your cousin! You deserve better than him. Just treat Romeo's banishment as if he were dead. Marry Paris. He's ten times dreamier, anyways," Feliciano reasoned, swooning.

Elizabeta gasped indignantly. "How dare you be so disloyal, Nurse Joy! I cannot believe you! I am disgusted with you! Clearly, I cannot ask for your advice with such important matters! There's only one thing I can do! I must go to Friar Lawrence!"

After that, Feliciano left the stage, while Ludwig and Gilbert returned to it. Ludwig stood a few feet away from Elizabeta, while Gilbert stood on the edge of the stage and explained the scene to the audience again. "So Juliet ran to Friar Lawrence to ask him for help in this dire situation! Friar Lawrence came up with a very drastic plan to get Romeo and Juliet together again! He gave Juliet a potion that, when she drank it, would make her appear to be dead for forty-two hours. She would drink it, and her parents would bury her in the family crypt. Friar Lawrence would send word to Romeo to come help him remove Juliet's body from the crypt, and they would bring her to Mantua. When she awoke, her parents would still think her to be dead, and she would be free to live with Romeo forever!"

Gilbert left the stage, and Elizabeta ran to Ludwig. "Friar Lawrence! Friar Lawrence!" she cried.

Ludwig's eyes widened slightly. "Ah, Juliet. It is a pleasure to see you again, my dear. What brings you here?" he asked her.

"Friar Lawrence, my parents want me to marry Paris in three days! But I cannot, I am married to Romeo! I refuse to marry Paris! Oh, Friar Lawrence, what do I do?? You must help me!" Elizabeta pleaded, grabbing onto the fabric of Ludwig's sleeve.

"Hm... This certainly is a predicament... It will require quite a lot of planning if I am able to help you... It will be very complicated..." Ludwig told her, scratching his chin in thought.

"Please, Friar, I'll do anything. Anything! Just tell me!" Elizabeta begged.

"Alright, I have a plan. But it requires complete precision," he told her. She nodded eagerly, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"Now listen, I have a potion that I can give you. If you drink it, it will put you into a deep sleep and make it look as if you are dead for forty-two hours. Your family will find you and bury you in the family crypt. I'll send word to you, and that night, he and I will remove your body from the tomb and take you to Mantua. You and Romeo will be able to live together in peace there," Ludwig told her.

Elizabeta nodded again. "Yes, yes, I'll do it! Please, give me the potion!" she begged.

"Alright, here it is," Ludwig said, producing a vial filled with a peculiar looking pink liquid (which happened to be pink lemonade) from his cloak pocket and holding it out to Elizabeta. She took it from him eagerly and put it into her dress pocket.

"Drink it on the night before your wedding," he told her.

Elizabeta nodded. "I shall," she said.

"I wish you luck," Ludwig said. With that, he left the stage.

Gilbert rushed back onto the stage. Elizabeta stayed put. "When Juliet gets home, she learns from Nurse Joy that the wedding has been moved to tomorrow! That night, she drinks the potion. Her parents find her the next morning, apparently dead, and entomb her in the family crypt! Everything is going according to plan! So far..."

He left the stage again. Feliciano came onto it. "Juliet! Juliet!" he screamed. Elizabeta turned to look at him, her eyes wide.

"Nurse Joy, what is it?" she asked him incredulously.

"Your wedding has been moved to tomorrow! You will be marrying Paris tomorrow morning!" Feliciano wailed.

Elizabeta's eyes widened even more. "Tomorrow?? Are you serious??" she demanded.

Feliciano nodded his head. Elizabeta's eyes narrowed. "Then I must do it tonight..." she whispered.

"Do... What...?" Feliciano asked, tilting his head.

"Nothing, never mind. Just... Leave me... I must prepare myself..." Elizabeta told him.

"A-ah... A-alright... I-I shall see you tomorrow morning, my lady. Goodnight," Feliciano said. He then curtsied to her and left the stage.

Elizabeta walked to the edge of the stage and looked out towards the audience. She produced the vial of "potion" from her pocket and took the lid off. "Oh, Romeo, don't worry, my love! I shall be reunited with you soon enough! We shall have our happy ending!" With that, she swallowed the contents of the vial, dropped it on the ground, and collapsed to the floor.

From backstage, Gilbert made a sound like a rooster's crow. Feliciano came back onstage, skipping happily. "Oh Juliet, wake up! It's your wedding day! We have to get you ready!" he exclaimed cheerfully. He then looked upon Elizabeta, and when he saw her, he gasped in horror. Then, he screamed. Moments later, Kiku rushed onto the stage.

"Nurse Joy, what's the matter?? Why did you scream??" he asked.

All Feliciano did was point. Kiku looked in the direction that Feliciano was pointing and gasped. He ran to Elizabeta and knelt beside her. He pulled her into his lap and looked at her, his eyes widening with fear. "N-no, Juliet, my child... She's dead...!" And he hugged her tightly and cried, while Feliciano burst into tears alongside him.

Gilbert rushed back onto the stage. "Unfortunately, not everything was according to plan now... You see, the man that Friar Lawrence had sent to bring Romeo the message of the plan had been taken to a quarantine because he was suspected of being infected with the plague! Romeo never got the message of the plan! The only news he hears is that Juliet is dead.

"That night, he sneaked back into Verona to see Juliet one last time. He had decided to kill himself rather than live without her. He met with Paris outside of the tomb, who was scattering flowers around it. Romeo kills Paris after Paris threatens to call the guard, and he breaks into the crypt. When he sees Juliet's body, he cries, and, drinking a poison that he had bought from an Apothecary earlier that day, he dies by her side.

"Friar Lawrence arrives at the grave later that night and realizes that Romeo has killed both Paris and himself, and that Juliet will be waking up soon. When she does wake up, she sees that Romeo is dead and that the plan has failed. She is angry with Friar Lawrence and refuses to leave with him when he says a watch is coming. So he flees by himself. Juliet, meanwhile, decides to kill herself for real. She realizes that Romeo killed himself with a poison. She kisses his lips, hoping that she will be able to get some poison into her own mouth. When that didn't work, she took his dagger from his belt and stabbed herself with it. She lays dead on top of Romeo."

Feliciano and Kiku left the stage, while Elizabeta laid on the stage, pretending to be dead in her tomb. Roderich came onto the stage carrying a bouquet of fake flowers. He knelt a few feet away from Elizabeta and scattered the flowers around the floor. Gilbert came up behind him quietly. When Roderich had finished scattering the flowers, he stood up and turned around, only to be met face-to-face with Gilbert. He gasped and jumped back slightly.

"Wh-who are you? What are you doing here??" Roderich asked accusingly.

"My name is Romeo. I am Juliet's husband, and I have come to see her one last time," Gilbert answered solemnly.

Roderich's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? Juliet has no husband! She was to marry me today, but she killed herself before the ceremony!" he exclaimed indignantly.

Gilbert scoffed. "Yeah, she killed herself because she didn't want to marry _you!_ Her heart belonged to me, and mine to her! Now step aside so I may see my wife!" he commanded.

"Look, punk, I don't know who you think you are, but it sure as hell isn't Juliet's husband. Now you better get your ass away from here before I call for the guards to arrest you!" Roderich shouted.

Gilbert sighed. "I was hoping we could do this the easy way, but... You've given me no choice. Goodbye, my friend." Gilbert then drew his sword and pretended to stab Roderich with it.

Roderich let out a gasp of pain before falling to the floor, seemingly dead among the flowers that he had scattered around the floor. Gilbert sheathed his sword and stepped over Roderich, towards Elizabeta. He mimed opening the crypt door and running down the stairs into the crypt. He knelt by Elizabeta's side and stared at her, tears beginning to stream down his face.

"Oh, Juliet, my love... I'm so sorry... This is all my fault... If I had not killed Tybalt, none of this would have ever happened... You would still be alive, and I wouldn't have been banished, and we would be living happily together... But now, now you are dead... You have killed yourself, and all because of me... I can never be forgiven for my crimes. I am so sorry, my love. But I shall be joining you soon. I will kill myself so that I may be with you once again. Oh, fair Juliet, wait for me..." he begged.

Gilbert then took a vial of a red liquid (which happened to be fruit punch) out of his tunic pocket and uncapped it. He stared at the liquid for a few seconds before drinking the entire vial in a single gulp. He tossed the vial onto the floor and collapsed by Elizabeta's side. Romeo was now dead.

Seconds later, Ludwig came onto the stage. He walked as though he were a spy, trying to step as lightly as possible, and trying to stay out of sight. However, he gasped in shock when he saw Roderich lying on the floor, and when he pretended to see that the crypt door was open. Ludwig then jumped over Roderich and rushed over to Gilbert and Elizabeta. "Oh, no..." he said when he saw them. "The plan has been ruined!"

Elizabeta began to stir. After a few moments, she sat up groggily. She rubbed her eyes, moaning tiredly, before lifting her arms up and stretching. She looked around, a bit frightened. She saw Ludwig, with his horrified face. She raised an eyebrow. She was about to ask him what was wrong, and where Romeo was, when she saw a figure out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look at Gilbert, who was laying "dead" beside her. She gasped in horror. "Romeo!" she cried.

Ludwig rushed over to her and knelt beside her. "Juliet, my dear-"

"Don't touch me!" Elizabeta screeched, pushing Ludwig away. "What happened to Romeo!? Why is my husband dead!? What's happened while I was asleep!?" she demanded.

"Juliet, please, let me explain. The message that I had sent to Romeo never reached him. He believed you were really dead and he came here and killed himself so that he could be with you," Ludwig told her.

"Oh, Friar Lawrence, you've ruined everything! How could you do this to me!? To _us!?_ " Elizabeta wailed.

"Juliet, please, this was all a mistake. I never meant for any of this to happen! But quickly, we must get out of here! There's a watch coming! They'll find us!" Ludwig shouted desperately.

"Let them come! You deserve to be caught! My Romeo is dead and it's all your fault!" Elizabeta screamed.

"Juliet, please-"

"I'm not going! I'm staying here with Romeo!" Elizabeta protested.

Ludwig sighed, but, he quickly fled the stage, leaving Elizabeta and Gilbert alone. Elizabeta looked at Gilbert lovingly and caressed his face gently. "Oh, Romeo, my sweet Romeo. I wish that things did not have to turn out this way. We had a plan, oh, a great plan. But divine intervention made it so that we could not be together in this life. I am truly sorry. I wish that this could have turned out better for us. But don't worry, my love... I shall be with you soon..."

With that, Elizabeta leaned down and kissed Gilbert's lips. She pulled away and waited for a reaction, but when she found that the poison was not working, she removed Gilbert's dagger from his tunic and held it to her chest. She closed her eyes and pretended to stab herself. She let out a gasp of pain and fell "dead" on top of Gilbert.

Gilbert and Elizabeta then sat up together. Gilbert looked at the audience and began to explain the last scene to them. "And so, Romeo and Juliet died together. They had both killed each other because they would rather have died than live in this horrid world without each other. The watch came soon. The watch consisted of the Prince of Verona, both of the Capulets, and Sir Montague. Sir Montague says that his wife had died of heartache over Romeo's banishment. When Sir Montague and Sir Capulet see the dead bodies of their children, they grieve together, and they agree that, once and for all, the feud between their families shall be over."

Gilbert and Elizabeta then laid on the floor together again. Kiku walked onto the stage, talking to himself in Japanese, using many different voices to give the effect of him making small talk between many different people. He then stood in front of Roderich and looked down at him. He then looked at the audience. "I, the Prince of Verona, am going to make an observation. Paris has been killed," he declared, nodding his head.

He then stepped backwards a few feet and crossed his arms. "And I, Sir Capulet, am going to say, duh!"

He stepped to the side. "And I, Sir Montague, must say that my wife has died of a heartache over the exile of our son Romeo," he said gravely.

He stepped to the other side, back to where he was standing before. "And I, Sir Capulet, must ask what the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"And I, Sir Montague, must say that it has nothing to do with anything. I just thought you should all know that my wife is dead."

"And I, Sir Capulet, must say that you are a very depressing man."

"And I, the Prince of Verona, say _shut up!_ Now come on, you fools! We have to go check out what's in the crypt!"

Kiku then pretended to walk downstairs into the crypt. When he saw Elizabeta and Gilbert lying dead on the floor together, he gasped three times. Then, he covered his face with his hands and started sobbing dramatically. He removed one of his hands from his face and patted his own shoulder in a comforting manner.

Kiku wiped his eyes and stood up straight, looking upon the "dead" bodies of Gilbert and Elizabeta. "I, Sir Capulet, must say that we have done something terrible, Sir Montague..."

Kiku nodded to himself. "I, Sir Montague, must say that I agree with you, for once. We have driven our children into such terrible madness that they have killed themselves. I finally understand that our feud was pointless... My friend, dear Sir Capulet, I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter."

"And I, Sir Capulet, am also very sorry for the loss of your son, Sir Montague. I do not wish either of us to suffer anymore losses like this. Please, I beg of thee, we must stop this feud. We must be friends, and bring peace to Verona once again!"

"I, Sir Montague, agree. From this point on, we shall no longer fight with each other. I call a truce. All because of our dear Romeo and Juliet..."

After this, Elizabeta and Gilbert stood up, as did Roderich, and the three of them, along with Kiku, walked to the edge of the stage. "And so ends the tale of Romeo and Juliet! So let's have a round of applause for me and my awesome friends!" Gilbert exclaimed.

Lovino, Feliciano, Ludwig, Francis and Antonio came rushing onto the stage. Everyone held hands and bowed together. The audience below, which had grown considerably since the show had started, to the point where Gilbert couldn't even count them anymore (or rather, was just too overwhelmed to even try), clapped, screamed and whistled for them. Slowly, everyone broke away from each other and returned backstage. Gilbert stood on the stage once everyone else was gone, his hands on his hips, smirking triumphantly and continuing to bow for the audience. That was, until Ludwig came and pulled him backstage, causing an eruption of laughter from the audience.

Eventually, everyone had changed out of their costumes and put their regular clothes back on. Everyone was talking and laughing, giving each other pats on the backs, and congratulating Gilbert and what a good job he had done directing the play. Gilbert had been smiling so wide and for so long that his cheeks were starting to hurt. Today had been even better than yesterday. He'd never seen all of his friends so happy before.

Francis had stopped the camera and, thankfully, the recording had gone off without a hitch. He told the others that he was going to download it to his computer when he got home and that he was going to send it to everyone. Everyone helped gather up the props and put them back into the back of Francis' car. After that, everyone hugged each other, said their goodbyes, and parted ways for the day.

Gilbert threw the door to his and Ludwig's house open and rushed into it. He fist pumped and jumped into the air, shouting "Woohoo! Aw yeah, baby!" as he raced to the living room.

Ludwig smiled faintly, shutting the door and following his older brother into the living room. He walked into the room just as Gilbert had plopped down in his chair and was in the process of turning his laptop on. He still had an enormous smirk on his face. Ludwig sat on the corner of the couch that was closest to Gilbert's chair. "Well, you're certainly in a good mood, aren't you?" he asked.

"Well duh! How could I not be?? That was like, the most _awesome_ Shakespeare reenactment _ever!!_ And did you see how many times I got to kiss Liz!? And she kissed me back! Man, I dunno how this week could get any better! This is amazing!" Gilbert exclaimed, laughing.

Ludwig shook his head, his smile only growing wider. Honestly, Gilbert was still so much like a child... Ludwig had always told himself that it was because Gilbert didn't get to have a real childhood. He had always taken care of everything. He had to work hard to keep Ludwig safe and happy. Now that they were older, it was Ludwig's turn. He only wished that he had more time to pay Gilbert back for all that Gilbert had done for him...

Meanwhile, Gilbert's mind was on a completely separate track. He once again opened his email and prepared to type a message to everyone in the Fellowship of the Bucket List.

_To my dearest awesome companions in the Fellowship of the Bucket List,_

_AW YEAH GUYS TODAY WAS EVEN MORE AWESOME THAN YESTERDAY LIKE SERIOUSLY GUYS WHO KNEW YOU COULD ALL BE THIS AWESOME HOLY SHIT GUYS! :D_

_Anyways, what I have planned for tomorrow isn't anywhere near as complicated as putting on a play, but it's definitely ten times more tiring, and at the end of it all, it'll look ten times as awesome as the play was! But I need your guys' help, okay? If you have any cans of spray paint, or some of those reaaaaally big paint cans and some paint brushes, I need you to bring them with you when you meet me and Ludwig tomorrow! And if you don't have any, maybe you could stop by a shop or something while you're driving and get some? I want to make sure we have plenty of it, so we don't run out..._

_Also you should wear junky clothes that you don't mind ruining._

_Anyways, we'll be meeting in a different place tomorrow. Rather than going to Rosemary Park, please go to this address:_

_626 Emerald Place_

_Tribbey, NY_

_10416_

_I'll see you there! 8:00 AM sharp, okay??_

_PEACE OUT LOSERS_

_-THE AWESOME GILBERT!!!_

Gilbert addressed the email to all of his friends and pressed the 'send' button. He then turned to Ludwig, smiling broadly. "So... What do you have in store for tomorrow, Gilbert?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, for starters... It's gonna be awesome...!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY MOTHER OF FUCK THIS CHAPTER IS ALMOST AS LONG AS THE LENGTH THAT THE FIC ALREADY WAS ??? MEANING THAT THIS SOLE CHAPTER JUST DOUBLED THE WORD COUNT ON THE ENTIRE FIC ??? I'M SCREAMING I FORGOT HOW LONG THIS CHAPTER WAS HOLY SHIT BUT I LITERALLY WENT THROUGH EVERY SCENE ON SPARKNOTES AND PUT IT INTO THIS CHAPTER I'M JUST... this was exhausting to write but so much fun... I consider myself an expert on Romeo and Juliet only because my literature class two years ago spent like two months reading through it together, so a lot of the pop culture references that I threw in there were some things that were actually said in my class regarding the play. (Benvoliraviolio was a prime inside joke in that class, as was Nurse Joy and sharp sauce, hence the name of the chapter) 
> 
> Anyways, I apologize for the length and I hope that no one got bored with reading this chapter ahh /// Hope you guys liked it!!

**Author's Note:**

> oH WHAT'S THIS, ANOTHER SERIES !?!?  
> FUCK  
> yeah this old thing has been sitting around in my writings folder for a year but I never uploaded it anywhere. I figured that I might as well do it now. Even if it's old writing and it's not my best work, I still thought you guys would get a kick out of it.  
> WE'RE ALWAYS SLUTS FOR SUFFERING AMIRIGHT  
> anyways, this story is a bit cliche and very tfios-esque, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyways  
> happy suffering, everyone


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